Lessons In Love and Revenge
by ParrillaStans
Summary: Post Cora's burial. From the afterlife, Daniel believes Regina needs to learn her lesson. With the help of the supernatural, he plunges her into a world she doesn't know, full of myths and some misery, too. There, she is provided with the ultimate test. Love...or revenge? Eventual SwanQueen. Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Once, they belong to Kitsis/Horowitz.
1. Prologue: The New World

What's up guys… :) This is a thought that just wouldn't leave me alone, even though I'm supposed to be writing an essay. If you're not familiar with the story of Medea, just flick through it here if you want to (spoilers, kinda): wiki/Medea_(play)

Hope you enjoy this story. I predict just over 10 chapters, but who knows. More SwanQueen interaction next chapter, that's a promise! Enjoy, and please R&R. :)

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There was no sound in the vault.

Well, there was one… Regina, sobbing her eyes out as she slid down next to her mother's brand new coffin. This was it – it was over for her now. Happiness was something so far out of reach she thought she would have to climb a cliff-face to get it back.

She'd had one moment. One bloody moment when everything had just been almost perfect.

'_Mother!' the dazzling smile on her mother's face made Regina think of what could happen next. Everything could be better now: she could show Henry her mother wasn't evil any more, that she'd gotten her heart back: she'd changed, just like Regina had been trying to. They could be a happy family – grandmother, mother and son. Emma could take care of him some days, and others he'd stay with them. It could the perfect family scenario. _

But then Mother had collapsed. Cora's body had started to tremble, and her knees had given out. Regina had caught her mother just in time. She died in her arms, saying her daughter would have been enough. It was all Snow White's fault. Snow White, that stupid, insolent little wench who couldn't keep a secret had now tricked her into killing her mother. If only Emma had been there to see, then she might actually see that her mother isn't all rosy and snowflake.

Regina let out a soft snort beside her mother's coffin, almost not believing that she'd actually managed to be outsmarted by the idiot. She knew this was it. Henry would never go back to her now. Her mother couldn't help her, Emma wouldn't believe a word she said, and Henry wouldn't love her any more.

_Snow White. _

'You're dead…' she whispered into the nothingness, dragging herself up and taking one last look at the brown coffin before walking up the stairs, back to reality. Even if Emma was Henry's other mother, even if Snow White was his grandmother, she was not going to forgive this. Snow White was going to pay for what she had done.

She reached the top step when her knees gave way and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She plummeted down the stairs, hitting her left temple on the wall, and lay unconscious at the bottom of the stone staircase.

SQ~SQ~SQ

'Regina?'

Her eyes flutter, hearing an overly familiar voice, a white sky invading her irises and giving her a headache. That voice. Oh, Gods, that voice.

'Daniel? Wh-what am I...'

'Shh, it's okay Regina, you're going to be fine.'

She fully opens her eyes, and her late lover is sitting on a stool next to her body. She abruptly sits up, regretting it as she does so, but not laying down again. She tries to reach for Daniel, but her hand just passes through his face. He's a ghost.

'If I'm dead, and I'm here with you, why the hell can't I at least touch you?'

He chuckles softly at his beloved's question, and runs a hand through his hair.

'Because, firstly, you aren't dead, this is all in your head. I'm not meant to be with you, Regina. I'm here because there's something you need to be shown. Something very important, that could change your mind about a lot of things.'

'Hang on, Daniel, why on earth would you know anything about recent events? You're dead!' She choked on her words in the last part, tears flowing from her shiny eyes as she's once more engulfed in the pain of having lost someone.

'I've been watching over you, Regina. I hoped, maybe, after the curse… you'd give up your quest for vengeance against dear Snow. Now, I can see that's not going to happen without a little help. I love you, Regina, but this pursuit for blood is only going to blacken your heart. I know that words were never…convincing enough for you.' He smiles slightly to himself, obviously lost in the memories that had been made so many years ago.

'Ok, all that aside, where am I and why am I here?!' She snaps, instantly regretting it. 'Sorry.' She smiles at him through her tears.

'Well, you're not dead, as I said. This is all happening inside your head. Right now, you're still unconscious in your vault, and I have a feeling nobody will be there for a while, so you're safe in that respect. But I have a mission on my hands to show you that, even though you seemed to ignore my advice that I gave you in the stable – sorry about Henry, by the way – there is somebody out there who can love you again. But you need to experience something before I can tell you who it is. Well, actually, I'm hoping that you'll know who it is before you come back to me, and then go back to the real world and find them. At the same time… you may realize that revenge isn't the option for you any more.'

'How's that?' Regina asks, blindingly curious.

'There's someone for everyone, Regina. We'll all spend our life with somebody. It's just a shame you couldn't see what's right under you nose,' Daniel says, smiling sadly at his lost love. 'Because now,' he continues, 'you're going to have to find out the hard way.'

'Daniel, please just tell me what's going on,' she pleads, tears starting to fall once more.

'Are you familiar with Medea?'

'Um… yes, I think so. Jason's beloved, she helped him get the Golden Fleece?'

'Yes. Is that all you know?'

'Well, they got their happy ending, unlike me.' She thinks of Snow again, happy with her daughter, husband and grandson.

'Oh, Regina, you really don't know the half of it.'

'What?'

'You're going to find out the real story now. And hopefully… this will show you the way forward for you.'

He presses two fingers to Regina's forehead, and she falls unconscious, instantly.

'Please Regina,' he whispers, 'learn from your mistakes.'

SQ~SQ~SQ

Regina awakens, instantly sitting upright. She is in a rather regal bed, reminding her of the one she used to have in the Enchanted Forest. Vases litter the golden room, a tapestry on the wall. She scoots out of the massive bed, walking over to the opposite side of the room. A chalk tablet lies on the dressing table, with a note written in Greek on it. Αργότερα, it says: 'Back later'. She isn't sure whether the new memories implanted in her mind can understand it, or if it's the Greek she learned when she got bored ten years into the Dark Curse. She is on her own, the other side of the bed having been left to grow cold.

'Jason?' She calls out.

She gasps, instantly flinging her hand up to her mouth. She cannot believe that she has just called out for one of the earliest known mythical heroes. But something is telling her she knows this man. Not just knows this man: loves this man.

She runs through the corridors, looking for the man she has learnt she is supposed to love in the last twenty seconds. After searching all of the rooms, she resolves to go back to the regal bedroom, and get some sleep before figuring out what the hell was happening in the morning. _This is just a dream, Regina. Everything will be okay. You'll wake up with Daniel tomorrow…and everything will be alright._

'Mama?'

Regina freezes. She swivels around to see Henry standing there, his five year old self in short pants, rubbing his eyes profusely.

To her absolute astonishment, another Henry appears. 'It's ok, Pheres.' His seven year old self puts his hand on the five year old's shoulder, soothing him.

'Mermerus? Pheres? What are you two doing up, it's almost two in the morning, my children,' Regina finds herself saying, in a soft voice she only ever really reserved for Henry. Her brain then supplies her with the information she needs: Mermerus and Pheres are her two sons with Jason… her two most dearly, beloved sons.

Regina walks over, of her own will this time, putting her arms around the two children, getting down to hug them with all the energy she had left at such an hour.

'Your Papa's just gone out for a little while, okay? I'm going to go find him.' She smiles, stroking Pheres' cheek softly. She stands up, to find Emma Swan standing a couple of metres behind them. She wears leather pants, and a white shirt with a dark brown waistcoat, also made of leather. Over it is a black velvet cloak, her long blonde hair tangled with curls.

'They'll be okay with me while you're out, your Highness,' she says, confident and comforting with her words.

Regina smiles at the woman who is oblivious that her parallel self has taken her beloved son away from her. She doesn't know. _I can like her here. She has done no wrong. _

_I can trust her. _

'Thank you…' Regina pauses, waiting for the guardian to introduce herself in this world.

'Kykna,' she replies. 'My name is Kykna, your Highness. I'm sorry we haven't been formally introduced: I'm the boys' new tutor. However, I'm sure you want to find dear Jason, so it can wait until a more acceptable hour.'

_Kykna, or Kyknos. _

_Swan. _

Regina smiles graciously, grabbing a cloak from one of the hangers in the corridor and setting out for the palace.

Regina lets memories flow to her. She is in Corinth now, on the west side of Greece, having fled with her husband Jason after deceiving Pelias' daughters. _Wow, they really were stupid enough to chop up their own father. And believe I'd give them the potion to give him rebirth. _They live near King Creon's palace, and they spend a lot of time there.

_An awful lot of time there… _

'It's ok, my love, I will tell Medea. She is not of any use any more. She was good, but not as lovely and beautiful as you are fair and kind.'

It's Jason.

He's speaking to Glauce, Creon's daughter, in an alleyway outside the palace. Regina can see straight down. They are clinging to each other for dear life, stealing kisses between words.

'No…' Regina slips out, regretting it and scrunching her eyes so she cannot see the reaction.

Jason whips his head up, and they stride out of the darkness, where Regina is able to see the light on their faces.

'Medea..' Jason whispers, looking distraught, but sorrier for being caught.

'No.' Regina says, more clearly this time, her face clouding with anger.

Jason is the spitting image of Prince James. Glauce is the parallel self of Snow White.

_I am Medea. _

_Jason has betrayed me. _

_And I want revenge more than anything in all the worlds._

**_A/N: This will get better, promise! R&R!_**


	2. Broken Promises

**Here's the first proper chapter for you. Hope you guys enjoyed the prologue, I've had a break from writing in the past year or so, so it's good to get back to it. Enjoy!** _**Quick note: the italics are Regina's thoughts, the bold is flashbacks. Just a head's up!**_

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She sleeps. And sleeps, and sleeps, and sleeps. It's all she can do, because the pain Regina feels just gnaws away at her soul. This isn't her, Jason isn't her husband, she isn't MEDEA for christ's sake, she can't be. Greek myths are supposed to stay myths.

_That's rich, coming from me, the Evil Queen._

Before she launches an internal battle with herself, she drags herself out of the bed she hadn't really wanted to return to after the horrible events of three nights before.

SQ~SQ~SQ

'**Please Medea, I…'**

'**NO. You don't get to speak. You don't get to do anything. You go to Creon's palace, and you stay there, Jason.' She spits her now estranged husband's name, snarling at Snow White or Glauce, as she was called in this land. She turns on her heel and walks confidently down the street, yanking her hood roughly back onto her head. She pulls it down so it puts a shadow on her eyes, covering the streams of tears now falling from them. **

**She arrives back at the house, about to slam the door when she remembers the children. She instead shuts it quietly, instead using her anger to storm like a madwoman through the house. In her rage, she smacks right into an ageing woman holding bed sheets. **

'**Oh, your highness, I'm so sorry,' she says, and Regina recognizes her. It's Granny.**

'**Oh, no, it's my fault, Giagia, I wasn't looking where I was going,' Regina says back, trying to quell the rage while her brain supplies her with the name of the nurse that takes care of her and her two sons. Giagia: the Greek for Grandmother. How terribly fitting.**

'**Has something happened, may I ask, your highness?' Giagia asks softly, putting down the bed sheets on a nearby table to take Regina's hand and put the other on her back to lead her to her room. Regina snorts suddenly at Giagia's question, making the elder woman crease her brow in confusion. **

'**What hasn't happened,' Regina says in her confused daze, 'and please, call me Re – Medea. I'm no princess any more.'**

'**If you're sure, Medea… would you like to tell me?' **

'**Jason…he's gone.' Regina can only collapse on the floor as the waterworks start flowing again. Giagia doesn't have the strength to hold her up, and so just kneels next to her, still grasping her hand. **

'**What do you mean, dear one? Gone, as in… dare I say… dead?'**

'**Oh heavens no, Giagia,' **_**One could only hope. **_**'He has chosen another over me, dear nurse. Glauce, the King's daughter is the person whom he now favours as a lover. I fear that all is lost between he and I.'**

'**Dear child! How terrible he was to do that to you. Come, poor girl, you must rest. One needs to at least try and grasp a clear head at such an awful time. The boys need you, Medea. Please, I beg of you, do not forget that.'**

'**You know I won't, Giagia. The boys are my world. You of all people know that.' **

'**M'lady, are you alright?' She recognized the guardian's voice before she could see her. Funny how only her voice was the one that could truly quell her rage and calm her insanity.**

'**Kykna, please help me take dear Medea to her bedchamber. She needs rest,' Giagia says to the woman, and she takes Regina's other arm, gently but quickly pulling her into a standing position. She puts one arm behind the small of her back, and Regina's insides quiver. **

_**What is happening to me? SHE'S THE SAVIOR, CUT IT OUT!**_

**The two servants help Regina into her bed, and after Giagia and Kykna both seemingly leave the room, Regina holds her head in her hands and sobs silently, tears flowing almost like a stream from her brown eyes. Part of her is crying for the woman whose head she is inside. The other part is crying for her. She is alone. She doesn't know who to tell, or what to do. There is no going back from this.**

**She thinks of Daniel. Why has he done this to her? What sort of lesson is there to be learnt in being put through this unfathomable pain? Not only that, but it is now double the pain that she already has: she has lost her son, her mother, Emma's trust (if she ever really had it), her love and her father. Nothing was left for her, and now he goes and does this. **

'**M'lady, I am so very sorry.'**

**Kykna is standing in the doorway, and by the look of things has been for quite some time. A single tear track lies upon her cheek, already having dripped off her face and dried on. **

'**Giagia told you,' Regina breathes, not really having the energy to speak.**

'**I was unbelievably worried, M'lady. I thought you were dying, if I am to be truly honest with you.' Kykna walks over to the bed, and Regina smiles slightly, the way she did at Emma when she had just returned from the Enchanted Forest. This world's Emma leans against one of the tables in the room, a mere 5 metres away from the bed. Somehow, Regina wants to her to be closer. **

'**I am.'**

**Kykna can only apologise with her eyes, realising her inconsiderable manner. **

'**Sleep now, M'lady. Giagia is right: you need some rest and a clear head. Tomorrow is another day. I shall take care of the boys. Of course, I shall bring them whenever you, or they, wish.'**

'**You never told me, Kykna: where are you from?' Regina asks. **

'**I am from Trikala, in the Thessalian valleys, M'lady. It is rather the most beautiful of places.' Kykna only smiles sadly at the thought of her homeland. Regina can tell the woman misses her fatherland, much like Medea does in her head. She can feel everything Medea feels, good and bad.**

**And it's a pain in the neck.**

'**If you need anything, or somebody to talk to, M'lady,' Kykna continues, 'I'm here.'**

'**Yes, well, I'm not sure that would be appropriate Miss – Kykna.' Regina regrets the words as soon as they leave her lips, also flinching as she almost loses her cool and calls Kykna Miss Swan instead. Kykna noticeably flinches, and nods, bowing her head before making to leave the room. **

'**No, wait, I'm sorry.' Kykna stops, her back still to Regina.**

'**I'll be honest with you, Kykna,' Regina continues cautiously, 'you remind of someone I used to hate, with almost every inch of my being.' **_**Almost. And not any more, anyway.**_

'**Should I watch myself, M'lady?' Kykna thinks about pushing her luck further, turning round with a small smirk on my face.**

'**Certainly not, Kykna,' Regina says immediately. 'You won't need to. I said I used to hate them. That is certainly no longer the case.' Kykna scrunches her face up, as if she suddenly realises something. Her face pales considerably, before she drags the colour back into her cheeks and smiles again, this time more brightly. **

'**Sleep, M'lady. Not that your features show you need it,' Kykna says, as if she believes every word. Regina is touched by the woman's sheer belief in her.**

'**Thank you, Kykna, how very sweet of you, although we both know your words are not the complete truth.' Regina smiles that same smile again, the one that graced Emma by the well. **

'**I do not believe so, M'lady. You are an… amazing woman. I don't know how you do what you do, but you do it. And I have always admired you, even when all I heard of you was just stories. I shall take my leave now, if I may, M'lady. Good night, and sleep as soundly… as you can.'**

'**Thank you,' Regina breathes, but Kykna is already closing the door quietly, so not to awaken the boys. A second or two later, Regina's head is on the pillows, her breathing evening out as she falls into a deep, hazy sleep.**

Regina cannot believe that that was three days ago now. She heads to kitchen, still in the sleeping gown, and catches sight of two women. The women Medea knows to be her best friends. Or in other words, Kathryn and Ruby.

'Xanthia? Roumpina? Since when did you arrive?' Regina says, as Xanthia envelopes her in a bone crushing hug. Regina can't help but let more tears spring to her already dried out eyes. Roumpina just smiles at her friend sadly, obviously knowing what's happened.

'You didn't deserve this, Medea,' Roumpina whispers, and Xanthia pulls back, nodding at the girl's comment.

'No-one does.' Kykna appears at the door, with the boys standing in front of her.

'Come here boys, I think Mama needs a big hug,' says Xanthia, ushering them over with her hand. Pheres sprints at his mother, clutching her thigh. Regina flinches at the contact, tentatively putting a hand on the small child's head. Mermerus merely comes and takes his mothers other hand. 'I'm sorry, Mama.'

She smiles slightly at the boy. She cannot help but remember that they are the offspring of the man she now loathes irrevocably. Medea's personality is calling to Regina. The revenge she wants so much is trying to pull her in. And Regina doesn't know how much longer she can stand it.

Kykna notices her mistress's look. She has seen it before, with other houses she has served at. When someone does something so wrong as this, and the other plots her revenge in all manners of moments.

These children need protection, Kykna knows that.

_But so does Medea, _she thinks.

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**A/N: I didn't just want to stick to the English names for this , so I put in a couple of Greek names for you. Roumpini means Ruby, and Xanthia means blonde (for Kathryn, because of her hair, not because she's dumb). Hope you all like this story. **

**R&R, people! Makes my day! **


	3. Life As They Both Know It

_**So I think this chapter's a little longer, my others have been a bit scant. There's a new fic I've been thinking about too, so if you guys want that one as well let me know through Reviews or PM. You guys have been so lovely so far, it's been really great to get back to writing. Enjoy Chapter Tres! ;) **_

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'Mistress, you must eat.'

Giagia plonks a tray on one of Regina's beside table before drawing the vast curtains. Regina hisses as the light hits her retinas, pulling the duvet back over her face. Before she could order Giagia out, a small figure attaches himself to her figure.

'Morning little monster,' Regina says dryly before uncovering her face and ruffling her son's hair. He just smiles, oblivious to the pain the woman is going through.

_The pain. The pain I can only rid myself of while I sleep. Please, just let me sleep. _

'Roumpina and Xanthia are waiting outside, Mistress,' Giagia says. Regina knows this is how it has always been in this house, Giagia the only person with a get-up-and-go attitude, while Medea, Jason and the boys had to haul themselves out of bed still half asleep. Normally on Giagia's orders.

'Tell them I'll be out in about 10 minutes, I'll try and look… presentable this morning.' Regina drags herself off the mattress, Medea's thoughts of vengeance, anger and hatred still fresh in her head.

It's funny how Regina's anger towards everyone has dissipated, because of Medea's. She still can't forgive Snow White, granted, but she doesn't feel like she hates anybody anymore.

Well. SHE doesn't, anyway. Medea, of course, is another matter. Even Kykna is a threat to her, even though she has done nothing but help. The pain of the deathly feelings overtakes her head again, and she presses two fingers to her left temple, while choosing something to wear. In the end she goes for a soft white gown, long sleeved and flowing, but slim and elegant. She may have put awful thoughts in her head, but Regina knows Medea has got style. Much like her own used to be, back in the Enchanted Forest. It's strikingly similar to the one she wore when…

When she first thought of killing Snow White. When Rumplestiltskin waltzed into her so-called life, like they had known each other for centuries. Tears spring to Regina's eyes before she throws it on, not bothering to look in the mirror before storming out of the door, and then the tears start to appear in full flow. She enters the kitchen, and this time as Xanthia goes in for a hug, Regina puts up a hand to stop her.

'I'm alright, Xanthia. Really. I've spent enough time wallowing, I think. It's time to get on with life.'

'This isn't moving on, Regina, this is numbness,' Roumpina says.

'And pretty soon… numbness will turn into anger,' Xanthia adds, and they share a look which even makes Regina's rage flicker inside her.

'Yes, well… it hasn't yet, has it? Maybe it's best if we just take it one…' she walks towards Xanthia, putting a finger under her chin, 'step…' she takes it off a second later, transferring it to underneath Roumpina's, 'at a time.'

'We just wanna help,' says Xanthia desperately, fear flickering at Regina's expressionless face.

'I don't need help, dear, I'll be alright,' she says, Medea taking over. 'Besides… who needs revenge when I have two beautiful boys?'

Regina's eyes flicker with fire in her brain that isn't hers. She's scaring herself, but Medea's breaking out and she cannot rein her in. She blinks hard, and the fire settles around her pupils. She smiles cordially at her two friends, going over find some food, which her stomach is now violently in the mood for.

'Here, I can do that,' Giagia appears beside her. Just a sympathetic smile is enough to make Regina roll her eyes and drop the bread. She stops Medea's biting remark about being able to butter a bread roll before it reaches her lips. She feels Roumpina slump into a chair next to the table, plonking her arms on it and letting her head fall. Xanthia just sighs, as if she doesn't know what to do with herself.

As Regina sits down to eat, Roumpina and Xanthia take their leave after another futile attempt to lure the broken Princess out of the house. She gives them each a reassuring hug, but Xanthia especially knows that a reassuring hug is never as desperate as the one she receives.

She eats in silence, and as she's on her own, and her head isn't still half in the dream world, she tries to delve into Medea's head. She goes through each memory, processing it through her own brain before moving on to the next.

Medea was a fine young woman, a powerful sorceress in Colchis, on the East side of the Black sea, where she was the daughter of King Aeëtes. She found her life rather tiresome and dreary, until one night, she received a visit from Aphrodite.

'Aphrodite, I worship you, and yet you come to speak to me in the mere mortal world? What is your purpose, mighty goddess?' Medea had said, rather scared of what may come of this impromptu visit.

'Dear girl, I only wish to give you something. It will not harm you. There is a man who will come here very soon, searching for your father's Golden Fleece. His name is Jason. I know you love your father, Medea, but this man will be in need of help. Your magic shall give that to him. You will fall in love with this man at your first sight of him; and you shall leave Colchis. You shall have everything you desire, Princess. The Fates have predicted a good turn for you,' Aphrodite had said. Medea had sat there, absolutely speechless. Aphrodite had chuckled before continuing: 'You shall not remember this, dear girl. You shan't remember me, or anything I have told you. But you shall fall for Jason the first time you lay eyes on him.' And with that, the Goddess of Love and Beauty had touched two fingers to Medea's head, knocking her unconscious. The next morning, she had no recollection: yet it was still in her mind.

The next day, Medea saw a ship, moor in the harbour. Many men filed off it, and lastly, Jason had jumped off the boat onto the pier. Medea had gazed, wondrous, and fell for him. His everything: his eyes, his body, his hair, and his smile. Goddess knows what she would fall for next had she talked to this man.

'Good afternoon, dear girl. I am here to make a deal with the King. Do you know him?' He had asked, and Medea had only fallen harder for him as words left his mouth.

'Know him? Why, good man, I'm his daughter. Medea's the name,' she had said, shakily, extending a hand to him. He took it and shook firmly, and his touch had only made Medea shiver with longing. He had knelt before her, still grasping her hand in his.

'Forgive me, good Princess. My name is Jason,' he had said, still looking into her eyes as he lightly kissed her hand. She had smiled, tugging him to stand again.

'Please, Princess, could you take me to your Father?' He had asked, eloquently and politely. She agreed and reluctantly letting go of his hand, she had mounted her horse, and gestured for him and his crew to follow.

She had known that moment, whilst riding up to the castle, that she had fallen irretrievably and irrevocably in love with Jason of Iolcus.

Regina knows, however, that her love for him was never irretrievable, or irrevocable. Another woman had come into the picture, and the light had died instantly. Regina feels Medea, deep down, had known that the love was never a real thing, only something implanted in her head by Aphrodite. It was so weak that it was never even in her heart. She feels a pang of sympathy for Medea, but claws it back at the disgusting thoughts the sorceress implants in her head. Regina wants so badly to ask her why she would ever even consider doing such a terrible thing. But she knows the answer, because she has felt the same thing too.

Magic makes good people do terrible things.

She knows that now, because that's what she was before Snow White had waltzed into her life. That's what Medea had been when Jason had stridden into hers. They really aren't that different after all.

She gets ready to enter another chapter in the sorceress' life, but her attempt is thwarted by a door closing, the front door.

Kykna appears in the kitchen, following the two boys who run to kiss their mother before going to play swordfight in the garden with sticks. Kykna smiles absently, watching the two children laugh and play in the green. Regina stands up, watching from the glass doors. Kykna goes to stand next to her, noticing the distant look in Regina's brown eyes, and the flicker of yellow that appears, which disappears just as quickly.

'M'lady, can I… can I say something?' Kykna's question snaps Regina back to reality, and she turns to the guardian, nodding her head slightly, smiling expectantly in permission.

'Ok, well… here it is. I'm not going to try and make anything better. I'm not going to tell you everything's going to be fine, or that I'll kill Jason for what he's done to you, because I won't. What has happened is awful, but wallowing in his sins isn't going to suddenly fix this whole mess. This is something that has to be sorted out under your terms. And I think you know that, because you are a wise woman, M'lady, one of the wisest I have met, and you will find a solution to this, in time. There is one thing though. I will protect those boys. I will protect them with my life, not only because that's my job, because even in just this past week, I have grown to love them. I signed up to protect this family. That's my job description.'

Kykna looks back to Regina, who now has more than plenty unshed tears in her eyes. She carries on, regardless, knowing that those tears will probably spill at her next words.

'Thing is, M'lady, they aren't the only members of this family. You're in it too.'

A strangled sob is let out by Regina, and she fails to stifle another, and another. She falls into Kykna's arms, and cries into her shoulder, oblivious to the boys now gone from play fighting to picking flowers for their mother. Regina isn't just crying because Kykna's words are so moving; she's crying because it's exactly what Emma would have said to her, had she been better to her about Henry.

Once her sobs subside, she pulls away from the guardian who only smiles softly at her. No pity, just understanding. Regina softly laughs once or twice, wildly swiping at the tears on her face. Kykna chuckles with her. She feels right now that it's safe to let Medea through. She lets her speak.

'It's really good to have someone that doesn't smother me with pity,' says Regina, though they are Medea's words. 'Jason always used to say he'd protect me, and keep me safe, stop anything from happening to me.' She laughs softly again, humourlessly this time. 'What's the point in life if nothing happens to you, Kykna? How can anybody enjoy life if they don't see anything worthwhile?' She reins Medea in, careful not to let her say too much. The last thing that comes out of her mouth is definitely Regina's. 'How can you live your life when someone else is controlling it?'

'You can't,' Kykna says simply. 'I would know. It's happened to me, too.'

'It has?'

'Oh aye,' she says, mocking an accent from some distant northern land. 'My parents died when I was just 4,' she recounts, closing her eyes at the memory before blinking back to reality and carrying on. 'My uncle stepped in to take care of me, or smother me, rather.

'Granted, he taught me how to defend myself; my, it would explain my swordsmanship skills today. That doesn't change the fact, though, that having learned those things he never even allowed me to touch a real sword. I wasn't allowed near a stable, or an armoury, or guards' quarters. He fought so hard to keep me safe, that he locked me inside his own protective mind. I was never able to have my own way. Everything was done for me. So two years later, I threw a hammer at his leg, ran to the stables, grabbed a sword and a bow and rode away. Rather ungracefully, may I add?'

'You'd never had riding lessons, it's understandable,' replies Regina, thinking back to her own riding lessons… to Daniel. She thinks of everything that's happened to her. Her whole life flashes in front of her eyes. And then Kykna does. The one person who understands her. The one person who knows her soul.

'There's a promise I'd like to make you, Kykna,' Regina says, much to Medea's flare of rage, knowing what she's about to make oath on. 'There is something nobody knows about me in this moment; something that would probably shock you, which you may not even believe at first.'

'M'lady, you don't owe me any…' Kykna starts, looking terrified, but Regina stops her, putting her hand up, bowing her head and closing her eyes before going on.

'I won't tell you what it is now, but one day, soon, I will. Because you are the only person in this house, this city, this _world,_' she says, 'that might have a hope of understanding. However, I shall give you one clue,' she finishes, pulling Kykna close so that her lips are near Kykna's ear. The guardian's eyes flutter shut at the breath floating against the skin of her ear.

'I'm not who you think I am,' Regina whispers, the sound dangerously low. A second later, Regina is pulling away, leaving Kykna, arms half outstretched, mouth agape, looking at the floor.

Little does Regina notice once she has left the room, going out in the garden to greet her children that Kykna's eyes are brimming with tears. Tears of sadness, joy and understanding at the same time.

Although Kykna has not been told the full story, she fears she already knows the answer. Those 11 years ago when she collapsed….when she awoke in a strange room…not knowing she had fallen into a different world.

Little does Regina know that Kykna's been through exactly what she's going through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

_In Storybrooke, two weeks after Cora's death…_

'Have you seen Regina recently?' Henry says, munching on the bran Emma has forced him to eat this morning: she knows Regina would freak if she'd found out his weekly intake of Froot Loops.

She knits her brow, confused. 'Come to think of it, kid, no, I haven't,' she says, the realisation dawning her that no attempts have yet been made at Snow's life.

'No-one's seen her around,' David says nonchalantly, putting away dishes from dinner the night before.

'I'm just a little worried, that's all,' Henry says, finishing his bowl and going upstairs to get ready for school. _Wow, Regina really did train him well, _Emma thinks.

'Truth be told, David, so am I,' Emma says, making David snap his head and give her an incredulous look.

'What? I am, the woman hasn't been seen or heard from in over a fortnight, and she was openly planning to kill Mary Margaret,' Emma continues, getting up and putting her plate in the sink, turning on the water.

'Yeah, so maybe now she's just trying to plan i on the down low,' David retorts.

'She openly cast a curse on you that brought you here for 28 years,' Emma says. 'Hardly something on the down low.'

Emma puts the dish she has washed away, as Henry bounds down the stairs.

'Can we go look for her after school Mom? Please?' He asks, as he puts his coat on and puts his bag over his shoulder.

'Sure thing, kid,' Emma replies, smiling crookedly, much to David's dismay.

'And you know what David? You wanna do something useful? How about hauling her ass out of bed and getting her to move past this. She's thought enough about what she's done, it's time for her to face reality again. No more breakfast in bed,' she says aggressively, pointing to the tray ready to be transported across to Mary Margaret's bedstead, 'no more telling her everything will be okay, because guess what? It won't. She murdered someone. She's messed up. Big time. And the only person who can sort that out is herself.' She puts her coat on and walks briskly after Henry out the door, slamming it behind her.

'Crap is getting crazy,' she breathes, following Henry out to the bug parked on the road.

After dropping Henry at school, and his reluctance to even get out before reassurance of their date with a Regina hunt after school, Emma drives up to 108 Mifflin Street.

She gets out of the car and goes to the door, the Benz parked neatly in the driveway. She knocks once, then twice. She starts to get impatient on the fourth knock.

'Regina? Your car's out here, I know you're in there.'

She knocks again and again, before giving up and taking a couple of steps back. In one swift move, she kicks the door, breaking the lock and opening it fully.

_Gonna have to use my newfound powers to fix that before she finds out, _Emma thinks.

She goes in, looking for any sign of movement. She checks every room: the kitchen, Henry's room, Regina's room, the guest rooms. Regina is nowhere in sight. That's when she catches sight of the red rose lying on Regina's dressing table.

_Cora. Funeral. _

_Vault._

Still clutching the blood red flower, she sprints out of the house, jamming the door shut with a stick.

Abandoning the yellow car, she runs full pelt down the road, in the direction of the cemetery.

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks again for all your support, guys, you've been great. As I said, got a new fic in the mix that is my brain, so keep those reviews coming and tell me what you think! I thought I'd just add in Medea's back story, because it makes for good reading. Glad you're enjoying this!**_


	4. Invasions of the Mind

_**So my friends, chapter 4… wonder what you'll make of this? And in this next story I'm planning I WILL be creating my very own character. Would you like the first chapter after this one's finished, or soon? Please keep reviewing, they really brighten my day! **_

* * *

_Storybrooke._

Emma runs swiftly through the graveyard, seeing the slightly ajar door to the vault. She slows as she reaches the door, passing through it quickly and quietly. She doesn't know what she'll find. She just hopes Regina won't blast her into oblivion with purple glittery air.

She works on putting one foot in front of the other, down the stone staircase normally covered by Regina's father's coffin. She turns a corner on the stairs, and as she does, she sees a darkly clad figure sprawled out at the bottom of the stair case, the person's head on the first stair.

_Regina._

Emma hurries down the stairs, careful not to hit Regina with her foot, and she bends down beside her, lightly touching the former Queen's arm.

'Regina? Can you hear me?'

That's when Emma sees the blood seeping from the wound on one side of the small woman's head.

'Oh, God, Regina… what did you do?' Emma whispers into the dim light, checking the smartly dressed body for broken bones or out of place sockets. She finds nothing, apart from a rather mangled hand, probably from reaching out and holding on to the wrong thing while she had fallen. She picks the Mayor up, who feels surprisingly light in her strong and sturdy arms, and carries her carefully over to a stone table near Cora's coffin. Emma looks over at the light brown coffin, stepping closer to it for a second.

'I'm so sorry,' she says out loud, a single tear making a track down her face. Mary Margaret has told her what happened in Gold's shop: Mr Gold himself even elaborated on the distressing scene that he witnessed: Cora having her heart shoved back into her chest. The gleaming smiles that only lasted for a second or two. The words Cora had said to her beautiful child in her last moments: _You would have been enough._

Emma fizzles out of her lonely thoughts and turns back to the broken woman lying before her. She reaches to feel the wound on Regina's head, her hand stroking the black hair longer than she means it to. She pulls out her phone, punching in the only number that may help her.

'Marco?'

'**Emma! How nice it is to hear from you.'**

'Nice to speak to you too Marco. Listen… I have a favour to ask you.'

'**Anything, Emma. What is it you need?' **

'Okay, I don't know how much you're going to like this… but I can't really explain it on the phone. Could you come to the graveyard? You know where Regina's mausoleum is, right?'

'**I'll be there in 10 minutes.'**

'Thank you, Marco.'

She ends the call, pulling her phone back down to arm's length and scrolls through the contacts to find David's number.

'**Emma? Where are you?'**

'Relax, Pops. I'm almost 29, you make me sound like I'm 13 or something.'

'**Sorry. What's up?' **His words are clipped and short. Obviously hasn't recovered from this morning's little spat.

'You know what? I just called because I need you to pick up Henry today, if you can. Please? I'll owe you a favour.'

'**Why, what are you doing that's so important?'**

He is really bugging her now. 'Look, I have some errands to run down at the station later, and I'm going to talk to Marco about something.'

'**Marco? Why Marco?'**

'Because I just need to talk to him about August, okay? It's not really any of your business. Just please, can you pick up Henry? Tell him I'll meet him at Granny's, around five thirty. Please?'

'**Fine, but you owe me.' **He instantaneously hangs up on her. Man, does her father know how to hold a grudge.

Marco comes down the stairs five minutes later.

'Emma, where are you I'm –'

He stops dead in his tracks when he spots Emma, sitting by a table with an unconscious woman laying on it, a coat covering the somewhat fragile form.

He realizes it's not just any unconscious woman. It's Regina Mills. And she looks very much worse for wear.

'Emma… what's happened here?' As soon as she catches whim of his arrival, she stands up, immediately walking over to him, looking at him with pleading eyes.

'Please Marco…I need your help. But don't say anything just yet, okay? Don't judge… just listen.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Corinth._

Regina is feeling particularly battered as she descends the stairs a couple of mornings later. Kykna has not been avoiding her as such – just avoiding the subject of Regina and her comment.

_I'm not who you think I am._

Regina's right, though. Kykna doesn't think she's an Evil Queen that cursed more than a thousand people to life in a small fishing town in Maine with an adopted son, whose birthmother happens to be the person to save everyone from that curse.

She thinks she's a fallen Princess from a land called Colchis across the Black Sea in Southern Europe.

And Regina sure as hell knows that she doesn't deserve the sympathy Kykna has shown her since she woke up as the disgraced ex-bride of Jason from The Golden Fleece story.

Medea's emotions are getting worse now. They're starting to seep into her part of their intertwined brain. And she is starting to worry, because it's showing. Keeping Medea under control gets harder and harder every single day she wakes up from sleep.

When Pheres wraps his little arms around Regina's waist as she goes into the kitchen again, she notices something that scares her more than anything.

Medea no longer loves this child. And Regina has never loved this child.

Regina has never loved these children because they are not her children. But Medea… she has lost all sense of compassion and love for these two children she bore.

Regina knows that this is really not a good sign.

As Regina muses to herself, sitting down on a kitchen chair, Giagia swans in like there's no tomorrow, preparing breakfast with quite the agitated look on her face.

'What are you so worried about?' Regina blurts, letting Medea take over the control of her mouth.

'Well…it's… it's the King, Medea. He's coming to see you.'

'What?!'

'Creon wants to speak to you. And by the savageness of his guards earlier, I don't think this will be a positive talk.' She hands a bowl of sugared Muesli to Regina, who leaves it for a minute, processing the supposed consequences of such a visit.

'Do you… do you think he'll have me executed?' Regina asks, fear filling her features and her mind. Even Medea seems to chill inside her head at the thought.

'Good Heavens, no, Medea! Jason may be a disgrace to this household,' says Giagia, preparing three more bowls of cereal, two small with some rice puff cereal and one normal size with muesli, 'but he would not let that happen. It seems the man still has a morsel of intelligence in that questionable mind of his.'

'Debatable.' Kykna comes through the door, angry as hell could make a person. She plonks herself down on her chair, just as her muesli is put in front of her, and the boys quickly follow, taking their places for their breakfast.

'And what troubles you, Kykna? You look… well… furious,' Regina deadpans, her eyes on her breakfast as she lazily spoons a portion into her mouth, chewing in the same fashion.

'For heaven's sake, Kykna, they pushed me once. I was… let's just say I was slightly out of line.'

'No, Giagia, no you weren't!' Kykna shouts, instantly contrite as the boys' faces just contort into the most hilariously shocked expression. Regina wishes she had a camera.

'You were sticking up for your mistress. It wasn't like you were pledging to kill the King,' Kykna continues, her voice at a lower pitch this time, before shoving a spoonful of her breakfast into her mouth with vigour and anger.

'Okay what the hell happened out there?' Regina says now, or rather Medea does, her curiosity alone overtaking both their minds.

'The guards quite rudely came to tell you that you were to meet the King at his palace at noon. Giagia said no, because she knew full well that you wouldn't have wanted to take a step nearer that infernal castle,' Kykna replies, taking a sip from her water before continuing. 'One of the guards got pretty angry and demanded your presence, but I stepped in and said you were still asleep, and you didn't need this kind of hassle right now. They tried to grab hold of Giagia to demand that she fetch you and I kicked him in the balls. Simple.'

Regina eye's darted to Giagia's arm, which was still quite red from the firm grip of the royal guard. 'You should have just come and gotten me, Kykna. It will save you and Giagia the 'hassle' of trying to take care of these men. They're like dogs, so there's not talking to them. And if they touch you or Kykna again, Giagia, I will kill them, each and everyone of them with my bare hands.'

Regina's hands start to glow with purple, while Kykna and Giagia stare on in fear. Regina's eyes dart back down to her hands and she holds them up to look at them. Almost instantaneously they stop glowing. Medea's moods are getting worse and worse.

_Medea just fantasized about stabbing each and every one of the guards. _

_Then she pictured her sons in the frame instead._

_And I felt the ecstasy of that moment._

_What the hell is happening to me?_

Regina looks back up in horror at the two servants of her house, and she runs to the garden, her back to the house and facing the wall. The tears start to stream out as she cannot help but relive the horrible images of the boys crying out in pain.

Her Henry crying out in pain.

She shakes her head as if to rid herself of the memory, and starts to clutch it as she can't take her mind of the disgusting pictures.

_You will succumb to my revenge, Queen, _Medea whispers in her thoughts.

'GET OUT OF MY HEAD!' Regina screeches.

Kykna just stares in confusion and fear, standing behind her, having followed Regina outside.

'M'lady, please. You need to come back inside.'

'Why?' Regina sneers, Medea shoving herself into her line of speech again.

'Creon's here.'

_**A/N: I know I know, a little shorter but it's just a filler this time. I'll be back on Monday for a longer and more substantial chapter. Good stuff to come, people, please R&R, always makes my day. **_

_**I picked Marco because he seems to be one of the better choices for what I want that character to do. You'll see why in next chapter, and I'll kinda try and stick to the storyline of 2x18 a couple of chapters ahead, because that'll need to be in it now. At least I don't have to include 2x19 for a while (not that I don't want to watch it, it's just those spoiler pictures – WHY IS REGINA NOT AT HENRY'S B'DAY PARTY?!) **_

_**Also, we're starting to get into the meat of the original tragedy here. One of the first scenes in the Euripides tragedy is Creon and Medea's harsh encounter. That'll be in the next chapter too. I'm away for a couple days, so don't miss me too much (I kid. No one'll miss me for three days). Enjoy Easter weekend!**_


	5. Damnations and Revelations

_**Here it is, chapter 5. Hope you enjoy this, and as always, keep reviewing, guys. **_

_**It makes my day! **_ _**Oh, and just to say… VIVA LA SWAN QUEEN!**_

* * *

Regina walks back into the house, trying desperately to avoid Kykna's worried stare as she leans over the kitchen counter, gripping the side for dear life and taking a deep breath.

'His majesty, King Creon,' a guard announces.

Regina immediately straightens up, and brings her eyes up to meet the King's. Her late husband Leopold is staring back at her with quite the fearful look in his eye. She is just about to say his name out loud when she remembers that this isn't him. Leopold is long dead. This is Creon, King of Corinth in the South of Greece.

'I come with orders for you, Medea. You will be a wiser woman if you so choose to follow these rules, and if you do not, we will strike back,' he says carefully, standing rooted to his spot on the kitchen floor.

'Is that so, your Majesty? And what... Orders... May these be, hmm?' Regina says, adopting her confident Evil Queen persona where she looks perfectly calm and collected, but could easily harm somebody if she chose to in that moment.

Creon's fear seems to escalate.

'I will not lie to you, woman. You truly frighten me, and I know full well that your powers surpass any natives of this fine Kingdom. This is why I have made the choice to banish you, exile you to another land. I fully believe that you are a danger to my future son-in-law, and even more so to my daughter.'

'He's MARRYING the wench?' Regina lets out, Medea steadily breaking through the calm Regina has built up.

To her surprise, the King lets out a rather humorless laugh. 'I have just banished you from this kingdom and your reaction is to the fact they are getting married? You baffle me, sorceress.'

'He was my husband, your majesty,' Regina sneers, both her and Medea this time, her anger merging with the witch's.

'Ah, but not any more. That man is to be my son. And you are a threat to that relationship,' says Creon, stepping back to distance himself from the witch.

'Damn right I am,' Regina mutters under her breath, her anger breaking through completely, her right hand glowing a fiery yellow for no more than a second.

'Witch, calm your temper! You shall leave this place by sunset today, or my guards will have you executed in front of the city no later than the next morning. Take your slaves,' he jabs a finger at Kykna and Giagia, who have witnessed the scene, Giagia in horror and Kykna not taking her eyes off Regina, ready to protect the fragile woman from herself if the situation arises, 'and your bastard children with you. If you ever set foot in this territory again, you will suffer a terrible death. My family will see to it.'

The King goes to leave, but as Medea completely overwhelms Regina, taking over the use of her speech, the witch calms down and pleads.

'Your majesty, wait!'

The King stops, but does not turn around. Regina finds herself walking over to her dead husband, stopping a couple of meters behind him. Regina can only watch from her eyes and listen to her voice as Medea carries out her plan for the King.

'Please, I apologize for my earlier misdemeanor Please. I beg you, your Majesty, give me one day more. I only wish to say goodbye to my home and my friends. I must make arrangements for my boys, and arrange for a place for the five of us to stay. '

Regina could only witness in fear of the plan Medea has in her head for everyone involved in this sorry mess. 'I am a broken woman, Creon.' Her voice drops to not much more than a whisper now.

'I cannot take anything away from you or your family in just one day. I beg you. I have done you or your daughter no wrong. I have done Jason no wrong. Give me one day.'

'No, witch. Do as I say and no harm will come to you.' He turns to leave again, but Medea is getting desperate; the sorceress knows she has limited time before Regina fights back and regains control, so she grabs the King's arm, tugging the man back to his earlier position.

He looks at her in disbelief, as if he cannot fathom the reason for such a pathetic creature would dare lay a hand on him. Medea puts on the most desperate and despairing face as she can.

She doesn't really feel that way; if she has her way, this man will be dead before noon tomorrow. But she won't. Regina will make sure of that... She hopes.

'Please,' she whispers, a single tear choosing the perfect moment to fall from her eye. The man seems to leave an age before answering her desperate plea.

'You have until sunset tomorrow.' He snatches his arm away before storming out of the house, the guards swiftly following.

As Medea starts to feel relieved at the time she now has, Regina immediately seizes control of her mind again. She has just seen a glimpse of what Medea wants to do. And she can never condone it. Not in any world, lifetime or universe.

She believes that Kykna, who is no the only other person in the room as Giagia has gone to comfort the boys, cannot hear when she mutters to herself: 'I really am heartless. I'm... Dangerous.'

She knows that she talking about Medea's role in her mind.

Kykna, however, does not, and she does hear the mutterings Regina lets out. 'You're not heartless, M'lady. That's what makes you dangerous.'

'What do you mean?' She asks, turning to face Kykna, who is now standing right behind Regina, her breath brushing Regina's neck.

'A learned man once told me, when I was going through quite a bad time, something that didn't make sense then, but it does now. Someone can be dangerous without a heart, that much is certain; but betrayed people, people who have lost much...they are dangerous because they DO.' Regina turns around now, her face mere in inches from Kykna's.

Her eyes flicker from green eyes to pink lips.

'Protect my children. I don't trust myself, Kykna. I don't,' Regina whispers, Medea easing her to say the words they were both thinking. Kykna puts her hands on Regina's waist, pulling her even closer, their noses almost touching.

'Who are you, Medea?'

'Medea's in here,' Regina replies, her eyes closing for a few seconds.

'But she isn't the only one.' With that revelation, she pulls away. Kykna tugs her arm back, bringing her back even closer than before.

'Tell me your name.'

'No.'

'Please.'

She takes a deep breath, which Kykna feels the full force of.

'Regina.'

'It's good to meet you... Regina.'

Kykna leans in, placing a soft but sure kiss on the former Queen's cheek, before pulling away slowly, smiling softly. She leaves Regina to go and check on the boys.

Regina realizes in that moment that now in this world, both her and Medea have something to fight for. Kykna is the person that will get Regina through this. Kykna is the woman who will get Medea through this. They just don't know how damaged they will be.

Kykna knows now. She gets it, although she knows she will need more of an explanation. This is the woman who had taken the baby she had given birth to eleven years ago in the land called Tallahassee. The place where her mind had merged with Emma Swan's. She was the Regina the learned man, Mr Gold had told her about: she had been shown a picture with her face on it. Kykna wonders what has become of her parallel world counterpart. Wonders if maybe Regina knows Emma Swan: she did adopt her son, after all.

Kykna wonders if Emma Swan has ever felt about Regina the way she feels about Medea.

STORYBROOKE

'Do you know how long she's been down here?' Marco says, checking Regina's pulse, Emma having explained she found Regina lying on the staircase out cold.

'Not a clue. But we hadn't seen her in over a fortnight, so I don't think she's moved from this spot for a... For a while, I would think.' Emma shudders at the thought of Regina's body rotting in the vault while everyone forgets about her.

'Well, we need to get some fluids in her. Her body won't function without it much longer, her pulse is rather weak. We need Dr Whale, Emma.' Marco takes of his hat, balling it up in his hands.

Emma deliberates for a second. She doesn't want this getting out to her parents. They'll just leave her to rot...

_ Can I trust Whale?_

She doesn't have time for a whole internal argument, so she pulls out her phone again, scrolling through to find Whale's number. Marco sits in the chair Emma was previously occupying.

'Hello?'

'Whale, it's the Sheriff. I'm gonna need some help.' 'Sheriff,' he replies stonily. He remembers their last encounter. Him in his drunken state, her tense demeanour over the decision to save Greg Mendel's life.

'I have a casualty down at the Cemetery, Whale.'

'Oh, really? Last time I checked the were a lot more than one, and I'm afraid I've discovered I can't save dead people, as you know,' he says drily, and Emma can just picture the humourless smirk on his face. 'Cut the crap, Doc,' she snaps, then remembering she needs him. 'Look, we're at the vault. Bring your supplies. We'll need oxygen and fluids. Please, Whale,' she tries. _She doesn't have all the time in the world. _

_And we have a son to protect._

'Fine. I'm on my way.'

The phone clicks, signalling the Doctor has hung up on her. She wordlessly locks her phone and shoves it back in her pocket. Marco looks at her, and she nods her head simply.

'Why are you helping her, Marco? ' Emma asks at a moment or two of silence.

'Because everyone deserves a second chance. My boy, he said to me that if she ever wanted it, he would be in favour of her getting a second chance, because nobody's heart can ever totally blacken. It's not possible in his eyes. Even more so in mine. Also,' he says shakily, 'I owe your family a great debt. And if this how you want me to pay it, I shall do it.'

'Marco, don't be silly, you don't owe me, Mary Margaret or David anything,'. Emma retorts absently, unaware that while she is talking, she's stroking Regina's hair out of her peaceful face. She muses about nice it is to see Regina with no hurt or pained expression, no anger, no betrayal, no tears. Just... Peaceful.

Choosing not to notice Emma's actions towards the Mayor, Marco begins to lift the burden he has had unknowingly had on his heart for the last 29 years.  
'I do owe you. You remember what your parents told you, about the wardrobe I built, that sent you to this world? That it could only take one person through with its magic?'

Emma nods, starting to listen intently, realising what she was doing at pulling her hand away from Regina's face.

'I lied,' Marco let's out, dipping his head as he did so. 'It could take two people. I made the Blue Fairy tell your parents that it could only take one.'

'But Marco, why?' Emma asks, but as she does she finds the answer in her own head.

_August._

'Pinocchio was the only thing that mattered to me. His life was the most important thing. I had to save my boy, Emma... I had to.' he crumbles in that moment. A whole 29 years of guilt that he has been made to feel in just the last two months had just been expelled from his system, and his tears show it.

'The Blue Fairy had said to him when he was given human life that if he remained selfless, brave and true, he would always be a real boy.'

'He didn't, then.'

'That is what I had feared. I have not seen or heard from him since the curse broke. I fear he is gone, Emma.'

'We'll find him, Marco. I promise,' Emma says definitively, leaning to put a hand on the man's shoulder. She has been sitting opposite him, her chair positioned at the top of Regina's body, and Marco at the bottom of it.

'Why do you show me such compassion, Emma? I do not deserve it, from you especially,' Marco says dejectedly.

'Because everyone deserves a second chance.'

Marco looks up at her now. He sees not pity, not anger, not forgiveness. But understanding.

They wait 10 more minutes, until they hear footsteps getting progressively louder. Emma shoots up, going to the bottom of the staircase. She sees Whale moving quickly down the stairs, in his usual brisk manner. She puts her hands up, going up a few more steps. He stops, looking anxious and confused.

'Emma, are you going to let me tend to the patient or not?' He asks, impatience clear in his voice.

'All I'm doing is warning you. You may not be so... Willing to treat them when you find out who this is. But I need you to trust me, okay?'

He shakes off the warning, pushing past the Sheriff, who just closes her eyes, slowly following him down and waiting for the inevitable.

The Doctor catches sight of his patient, and his eyes widen, then his face contorts into an angry frown. Almost like a child on the verge of a tantrum.

'Hell will freeze over before I let her live,' he spits, and he turns around only to barrel straight into Emma, who tries to keep him from leaving the vault.

'Whale, please! She's Henry's mother. Don't let the kid lose his mother,' she shouts, her face getting perilously close to the Doctor's, who defiantly glares back at her.

'You're his mother,' he whispers angrily.

'Yes. But she is more of a Mom to him than I ever could be.'

'After everything she's done to this town, to me, why should she get to live?' His temper is getting worse and worse, and Emma knows it.

'Because she's still human. She makes mistakes, just like the rest of us. And don't think I don't have any idea what you did to her, Whale, I had a lot of time to talk to my son's grandfather on the way back from New York. I know you, Jefferson and him tricked her to get a heart for your brother. You let her think her fiancé could come back so you could save him. She's not the only one who's been selfish in her motives, Frankenstein.' Tears are falling from Emma's face freely, and although she does nothing to remove them from her face she curses her eyes for deceiving her.

'Dont you dare try and blackmail me, Charming,' he sneers.

'I'm not. I'm giving you a choice. You can let her die, make her pay, get your revenge for ripping you away from whatever crap went on in your land. But you'll be left with a black hole in your heart, just like hers. Because that's what revenge does to you. That's what murder does to you. Trust me, I know. Because that's exactly what is happening to my mother.'

His face flickers with confusion for a minute, but then returns to the sulky schoolboy frown he sported when seeing Regina.

'Or,' Emma presses, hoping desperately that she isn't pushing her luck, 'you keep her alive. You give Henry back the mother he has had for ten years and the mother he really deserves, and you forgive her for her mistakes. Because you've made them too.'

Emma could swear forever goes by while he mulls it over.

'What's her pulse rate?' He turns away from Emma, sets he supplies down next on the now vacated chair.

'I don't know, I didn't count, but its weak,' Marco says, while Whale checks her airway, and puts two fingers to her neck.

'Slow,' Whale mutters, 'too damn slow,' and he takes out the oxygen pack from his supplies and puts it over Regina's untarnished mouth and nose,

_Damn, she even looks good with an oxygen mask on her face._

_What?_

Emma is snapped out of her musings by Whale asking her to help him lift Regina to his car. Emma brushes him away and takes the unconscious woman in her arms, shoulder ladies resting one arm and the bent knee joints resting on the other.

_Just like a wedding lift..._

_Shut UP, Swan!_

Marco unlocks the car while Emma waits to put her in the backseat. The Doctor stands behind Emma while she carefully slides Regina's unmoving form into the backseat of the car. When she is sure that she is safely in, she shuts the door and moves round to the side where Regina's head is. She opens the door, lifts the former Queen's head, and slides into the seat, then resting Regina's head and shoulders, her face still covered with an oxygen mask, in her lap. Marco get in the front passenger seat, while Whale gets in the drivers seat.

'Take her to my house. Nobody will suspect anything, she will be safe there.'  
Marco says, and Whale hits the clutch, pulling out of the space.

Emma's tears have started to fall again, and she doesn't bother wiping her face.

_I can't face losing her._

_And it's not just because of Henry._

_Why can't I face losing her?_

'Whale?' Emma asks, all authority having evaporated from her voice. He looks up in the mirror, and then back to the road, signalling that she could go on.

'Don't tell anyone about this, okay. And under no circumstances - I don't give a crap what they are - do you tell my parents. Please?' Her voice cracks on the last question. Whale could smell the desperation from a mile away, and he glances up in the mirror again to see the face of a scared and confused little girl looking down at Regina's face.

'You have my word,' he says softly, looking back at Emma, who looks up for a second and offers a small watery smile. It seems, Emma thinks, that it didn't take long for him to grow up.

She looks back down at the face in her lap. Her tears flow more violently, and one lands on Regina's forehead. Squeezing h eyes shut to try and stop the tears from escaping, knowing it's in vain, she leans down to the Mayor's forehead, and kisses the tear away, even though others land on other parts of her head. Emma hastily wipe them away, and she lets out a quiet sob, she whispers so only Regina would be able to hear. If she were awake.

'Come back to me.'

Marco and Whale pretend not to hear the heart-wrenching sobs that escape from Emma as she never stops looking at Regina. She keeps stroking Regina's hair, which now has some dried blood in it from the worrying head wound, as if would soothe the woman.

'Come back,' she whispers again.

Marco and Whale exchange the same look; it is one of soft pity, sadness, and above all else, something which has got both these bereaved souls this far in life. Hope.

And their hope may be for the woman they are supposed to despise.

But it's still hope.

* * *

_**A/N: I had to include Dr Whale in this, because I feel he still owes Regina. And also, time in this is a bit distorted, so I'd say a week in Storybrooke equals one day in Corinth. Just to clear everything up.**_

**_Please review!_**


	6. Past, Present And Future

_Ok, so it's been a little bit since my last chapter. Please forgive me! I've been busy revising for exams and whatnot. Hope you enjoy this chapter._

* * *

Emma hasn't moved for almost three hours.

She sits unmoving next to the semi-lifeless body of Regina Mills.

Former Queen.

Former Mayor.

Former Enemy.

Regina is lying on her back on Marco's bed. A drip has been set up, giving her fluids, and she wears an oxygen mask over her peaceful, untarnished face. She's wearing sweats and a shirt Emma dug out of Marco's drawer from the time when she had got drunk with Sidney the day that they were ridiculed by Regina and her council cronies at the town hall. Marco had picked her up, demanding she stayed the night and that Henry shouldn't see her like that. He'd given her a change of clothes and had said the next morning to pick the clothes up whenever. He was such a kind soul, and still is.

Even though when…if… Regina wakes she probably won't be happy with her attire, but it's better than what Whale had suggested: the dreaded hospital gown. She laughs at the thought of Regina's hostile but sometimes hilarious temper: the way she got when Emma endlessly annoyed her with her Sheriff duties interrupting her Mayoral duties, and when Emma once purposely bumped into her outside her apartment, coffee in hand, just so she could offer a shirt from her wardrobe to 'return the favour' of the one Henry had given her on her third full day in town. The woman was livid, but accepted the surprisingly crisp white shirt anyway.

Her thoughts sober as she looks at the unmoving form in front of her. Regina's hair is still a bit damp from when Emma herself has tried to wash the blood out of it, stitches having been quickly applied by Dr. Whale upon their arrival at Marco's. For the first time today, Emma lets herself think of how beautiful Regina looks. No emotion in her face. She is even more beautiful when she's happy, but Emma hates the fact that she has never seen her in that way.

Not once.

So this is the best she'll get, for now. No tears on her face, although the same cannot be said for Emma. She hasn't really stopped crying since she had started in the vault. The entire time she has known the former Mayor, she has NEVER even stopped to look at her face for more than ten seconds. Now she's getting more than an hour to, and it's killing her.

All the times she's fleetingly glanced at the woman's face, she's seen anger, desperation, sadness, pain, sometimes a small but forced smile, but never happiness. And it hurts Emma. A lot. But probably not more than it had hurt Regina.

And that was the worst part.

Her thoughts snap back to reality, and she looks at her watch. It says 5:22. She has to pick Henry up in less than ten minutes.

She stands up, reluctantly pulling her coat on, buttoning it up. She goes over to Regina from where she has been sitting for the last three hours.

_Damn, my butt hurts. _

_That was uncomfortable._

_But worth it. Wait, what?_

'I'll be back, Regina. I think our son will wanna see you soon.' She smoothes the hair away from Regina's forehead, pressing a finger to her lips and then pressing them on the woman's forehead.

She walks out of the room, taking one last look at the frail body before almost running down the stairs in fear the sight may set her off again.

'Marco, I'm gonna set off,' Emma says, her voice surprisingly thick from tears. 'I need to pick up Henry. Will it be okay if I bring him back here? He… he needs to see his Mom.'

'Of course, Emma. Is there anybody else you're planning to let know?' Marco turns around from washing the mugs from their earlier teas at the sink.

'No. Just Henry. He's the only one who won't want to let her… die.'

'Maybe Archie would be kind?'

'Maybe. But I don't want to risk it just yet, if my parents find out…'

'I know, Emma. Go, get your son. I'll get you two some dinner as you're bringing him back here, eh?' The man smiles sadly, the sympathy clear. He really is a kind soul.

'Thank you so much Marco,' Emma says, before turning around and leaving the house.

xXx

True to David's word, Henry is sitting in Granny's, reading a DC comic while he waits for his mother to come and pick him up. He glances as the door opens, seeing Emma rushing towards him, scooting into the booth.

'Okay, kid, you ready?' Henry doesn't reply, only looking up at his comic to glare at his younger mother.

'Henry, what's wrong?' She asks, almost exasperated by his infernal attitude.

'You promised we'd go find Mom,' he says, keeping his childlike glare on the woman in front of him.

'I'll explain in the car, I promise. We can't talk about it here. Operation…find Momma Mills… is secretive, right?'

'Operation Viper, Ma. God, you are so bad at this,' he says, before scooting out of the blue booth and running out the door to the yellow bug, Emma quickly following behind.

'Okay, what's so important that Operation Viper has to be put on hold?' He asks, as soon as Emma has got in the car and is starting the engine.

'Operation Viper isn't on hold, kid,' she says, before releasing the clutch and putting the car into gear, 'Operation Viper is complete.'

'How is it complete? We haven't fou…' He trails off as his mind processes the information he's been given. 'Yes, I have, Henry.' 'And?' He says, his excitement flaring.

'It's not good, kid,' Emma replies, not lying to her son.

'What do you mean?' He replies, his faces straining in worry.

'I'll show you, kid.' And Emma puts the gear up twice, speeding towards Marco's house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

CORINTH

As she mulls over the talk with Creon, the revelation to Kykna, and the awful visions Medea's shoving into her mind, Regina feels sudden moisture on her head. It's not sweat, but more like…

More like a tear.

She wipes it off, not thinking anything of it. Then she feels it again. And again, and then again. They come individually, until after about thirty seconds, they stop. She wonders where the strange moisture comes from.

She tentatively takes one bead of moisture she has just wiped off her head, and puts it against her tongue.

Salty. Salty like tears.

In that moment, wondering where it could of come from, it all becomes just a little bit too much.

Regina sits, closing her eyes, and blocks out any thoughts from her head. It's the only thing she can do to stop Medea from emerging.

_Regina, let me in. _Now Medea can SPEAK to her? Regina muses, cursing because she's in such a situation.

_Why should I do that? All you're going to do is… You know what? I don't even want to think about it._

_This isn't for that. I'm not saying that's not what I plan to do any more, because it is. And I fight myself every day, Regina, you just don't see that part because the part which cares for those infants is losing the battle._

_Have you ever asked yourself why you're losing the battle? Because in my mind, I've never heard you or thought you had even tried to fight the fact that you want to – ugh._

_Well. You think it's so heartless, what I want to do? What my mind is telling me I must do? How about you see everything? How about… you feel EVERYTHING I have ever felt for that bastard of a man? Then maybe… just maybe you'll see my side of things._

_I'm not like you. I would never harm my child._

_Ah, yes, little Henry. But wasn't Snow White your 'child' in a way too, when you married her father? And you've harmed her beyond belief. That's right, Regina, I can see into your mind too. We're trapped here together._

_We have harmed each other beyond belief. She killed my love; I killed her father and cursed her. Then she TRICKED me into killing my own mother. She has to pay. She was never my child. She was a girl who COULDN'T KEEP HER MOUTH SHUT._

_But you still cared for her, deep down, didn't you, Regina? In your quickly blackening heart you still loved the girl you saved because she was so… helpless. We're not so different, you and me. Jason needs to pay. And this is the best and most effective way to cause him pain. It surprises me you haven't thought of the same method to harm dear Emma._

_You're heartless. I wouldn't be so repulsive._

_Oh, the heartless thing. Well… as I said, you think me so heartless? You see WHY Jason needs to pay._

And on that note, Medea plunged the former Queen right into her mind, showing her everything.

**_Medea couldn't stop staring at Jason. He was gorgeous. He had fair hair, he was tall, muscular, and his smile could reach for miles. In Medea's eyes, he was flawless. _**

**_She watched him from her throne at the right hand of my father Aeëtes, asking him if he could take the Golden Fleece in return for many riches from the King. The King held back a laugh, before answering the deluded Prince._**

**_'Prince, I will set you a number of challenges. If you can conquer each and every one of them with your life intact, I shall give you the fleece, and you can keep your riches. We have no use of them here.' Jason nodded, inclining his head as to ask what the first challenge was._**

**_'I shall tell you the first challenge after a good meal and a night of sleep. Medea, please make this man feel welcome. Your kind heart is good at making sure others are accepted.'_**

**_ She smiled and hugged her father, who loved her unconditionally. _** **_She showed Jason to a room adorned with gold and purple material and a king size bed._**

**_'_****_Thank you, Princess. You've been too kind to me during my short time here,' he said, a genuine smile gracing his flawless face._** **_She smiled back, but then her face turned grave and fearful. _**

**_'Prince Jason, these challenges my father intends to set you… you will not come out of them alive,' she said, looking away from the man who would surely die in the next few days._**

**_'Well, I must try. My kingdom lies in grave danger from a very hostile man, my Uncle. He will not give me the throne that is rightfully mine by heir hood. If he continues to rule, the Kingdom shall be in ruins. I will try my hardest not to let that happen. I alone am the only one who can save that Kingdom.'_**

**_'Yes, you are.' Medea walked over to the Prince, who now had tears in his eyes due to the memories of his broken Kingdom of Iolcus. _**

**_'And you shall. But not without help,' Medea says, wiping a stray tear of the Prince's cheek. His face contorted in confusion for a second, but then went back to hopelessness._**

**_'If you accept my help, you will succeed in every challenge my father hurls at you. I can help you,' she said, her hand then coming back up to stroke the cheek it had just left, her knuckles brushing over the smooth flesh._**

**_'How can you help me, Princess? All is lost,' he said, his eyes squeezing closed as more tears began to fall. _**

**_'Do you believe in magic, Prince Jason?' She asks, and his eyes snap open._**

**_'I heard stories as a child, my mentor used to believe in it,' he replied, his face again looking confused as the woman in front of him stepped back from him, dropping her hand from his cheek._**

**_She brings up the other hand, and it starts to glow lilac, and a diamond manifests in it._**

**_'That's magic?' He asked, his face incredulous._**

**_'That's just the start,' Medea smiles, and she grabs the Prince's hand._**

**_'Are you ready?' She asked._**

**_'For what?' He retorts, but he squeezed the Princess' hand anyway._**

**_'The future,' she replied, laughing lightly as they both disappeared in lilac smoke._**

**_They reappeared on a mountain, wrapped around many others. Then, Jason realised that they were standing on the stage of an old, ruined amphitheatre._**

**_'Where have you take us, Princess?' He demands, fear evident in his voice._**

**_ Medea becomes ashamed at the fact that she made him fear her._**

**_'Please don't be afraid, Your Highness,' she soothed, pulling the man closer to her side, looking up at him. 'I only wished to prove my worth. I can help you.'_**

**_'Why take me here, then?' He asked, the fear slowly dissipating from his voice._**

**_'Because this shows you the magnitude of what I'm able to do. How I can help you get your kingdom back.' She pulls him even closer, and turns him so he is looking at her. _**

**_'This,' she continued, 'is Delphi.'_**

**_'The Oracle? Then why is everything…ruined?' Jason's voice was a mix of confusion and partly grief._**

**_'This is Delphi… two thousand years in the future.'_** **_She pulled the astonished man gently, and he eventually followed her to where a Golden Plaque, placed on a 3ft high plank of wood stood in the sandy ground. _**

**_HERE IS THE SITE OF THE HISTORIC CITY OF DELPHI. ACCORDING TO LEGEND, AN ORACLE OF GREAT POWER THAT COULD GIVE KNOWLEDGE BEYOND ANY IMAGINATION OF THE HUMAN WORLD WAS SITUATED IN THIS VERY SPOT. IT IS SAID THAT THE GREEKS OF TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO BELIEVED THAT DELPHI WAS THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH._**

**_Jason read, skimming each word with his finger. Once he had finished, he staggered a little under Medea's grasp. She was almost holding him up. _**

**_'So it's true. We really are… in the future,' he said, lifting his hand to his mouth, pulling it down until his mouth stretched a little. _**

**_He glanced around again, looking at the ruin of the most powerful place in the world. Or so he thought._**

**_'I want to show you something else… if you're up to seeing it. Or I can take you back right now. It's up to you,' Medea said, squeezing Jason's hand as he mulled it over._**

**_'Show me.'_**

**_And with that, Medea whisks them away in another cloud of lilac smoke. _**

**_They reappeared again in a busy neighbourhood._**

**_'This is Corinth,' Medea said, turning to Jason after taking in the surroundings._**

**_ She takes both of his hands and looks up to him, her face serious. _**

**_'This is 3 years in the future, no more. There's something I'd like to show you, and it's just down here.'_**

**_She carefully led him by the hand, and that's when people started to look up. Some smiled; some even waved, or bowed their heads at the sight of them. _**

**_Medea greeted them back, with grace and gentleness. Jason gave tight smiles, knowing none of the people who greeted him with such vigour and happiness._**

**_ She pulled him into a small alleyway, which looked almost like the way to a garden. They reached a beautiful place, a garden adorned with many beautiful blooms and trees. There was even a small orchard. _**

**_Then he saw it._**

**_A child was reaching up to pick one of the apples on an orchard tree. Naturally, he was too short to do so, as he only looked 2 years old, if that. Strong arms were holding him up; and those strong arms belonged to a mirror image of him._**

**_He stifled a small gasp as he watched the child take a large bite of the apple, as the man who was his parallel carefully lowered the child and settled him into his arms. _**

**_There was a bright grin on both faces, and then a woman appeared from the house that belonged to the garden. She wore a dark blue dress that flowed to her ankles, and she wore sandals on her immaculate feet. _****_Long dark hair flowed behind her back, and she was significantly shorter than the man she had walked over to and kissed sweetly on the lips._** **_That woman was the mirror image of Medea._**

**_The woman took the boy from the man's arms, giving him another fleeting kiss before taking the sleepy boy in the house, leaving the man holding the once-bitten apple. _** **_The man grinned to himself suddenly, and just like that, he watched his mirror image disappear into the house, following the woman and the boy. _**

**_'That's…'_**

**_'Us. In two years time,' Medea fills in, knowing just how astonished the man probably is._**

**_'I have been brought here by fate and by my magic to this very spot, every month for over 7 years. At first, I didn't understand, but then, today, when I saw you… it all made sense. It's been showing me my future,' she said, still staring at the beautiful orchard._**

**_'Why would you want to know your future?'_**

**_'I didn't. I was shown it. But I cannot say I didn't like what I see, Prince,' she chided, looking back at the man, who now had the ghost of an open smile on his face, looking away from the young, beautiful woman._**

**_'Come, now. We should probably go home. Father is going to be wondering why I spent so long in your room,' she laughed, pulling Jason a little more roughly by the hand, and they disappeared in another puff of lilac smoke. _**

**_Except this time, it had grown the slightest bit darker. _**

**_They reappeared in the room that Medea had led Jason to just 15 minutes before._**

**_ She looked at him, and instead of looking away again like he had done once before that day, but instead took her hands and kissed them. _**

**_'I shall not pretend that I do not feel quite enchanted when I'm around you Medea. But we should certainly take this at a slower pace. Do you understand, Princess?' He smiled as he asked her the question._**

**_She could only smile back and flutter her eyelashes in a silly way, deliberately imitating an impressed little girl, before heartily laughing and saying, 'Of course, Prince.' _**

**_He smiled at that, and then his face turned serious._** **_'So… so you'll help me?'_**

**_'Of course I will, Jason.' _**

**_And as she said it, she leaned up and kissed the fair man's cheek, and left the room._** **_Medea was utterly in love. Utterly and irrevocably in love._**

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

STORYBROOKE

'Marco? You in?'

'Of course!' Emma sees Marco peering into the oven, supposedly checking dinner. 'Dinner's almost ready. I think you better take Henry to see her.'

He smiles sadly, and then turns around to get some plates out of the cupboard.

Emma takes her son by the hand, leading him up the stairs. Once she reaches the door to where Regina is lying, she stops.

She brings herself down to her son's level, eyeing him with such intensity it almost scares the boy. Her eyes grow shiny again as she starts to explain the truth to Henry.

'Henry… when I found your Mom, she was in a really bad way. She was unconscious,' she starts, and Henry begins to cry quite fervently, and Emma desperately reaches to stroke his cheeks, and wipe them free of the tears that begin to escape. 'She had lost quite a bit of blood, and she was in a really bad way, Henry. But I called Dr Whale…'

'You called Frankenstein? Are you NUTS?!' He begins to squirm out of his golden haired mother's hold and try to enter the room.

'Henry, calm down!' Emma retorts, gripping his upper arms with strength to hold him still. 'Whale owes your Mom, okay?' She says, her voice breaking and become thick with tears, which Emma hasn't even noticed are beginning to fall, once again that day. 'He's gonna take care of her, because he knows how much we care about her Henry, and…'

'We? How much… we … care about her?' He says, his eyes widening in disbelief.

'Yes, Henry, we. I do care about your Mom, like it or not, and I want her to be happy and have you, and…' she looks away for a few seconds, trying to mask the salty moisture spilling from her eyes, and scrunches them closed for a second in a futile attempt to make them go away. She then realizes she does know how to finish that sentence. But it's not for saying yet. Not even to herself, let alone Henry.

'I don't know when she's gonna wake up, but she's safe with me, Whale and Marco for the time being. We're gonna take really good care of her, because we all know something,' she finishes, her eyes reddening and her face contorting into the one that signals the tears have resumed full flow while she looks at her son.

'What do we know?' Henry asks, tears beginning to stream down his face again. This time, Emma doesn't wipe them off, but instead she puts her hands on the back of his neck, her thumbs just covering the fair skin that is just before his ear.

'Everyone deserves a second chance,' she blubbers, and they both collapse into each others shoulders, sobbing profusely.

Still crying, she lifts Henry up, holding him as if he were a toddler, and she takes him into the room. She looks up from his shoulder, and notices Dr Whale inside checking Regina's vitals, and the drip that he had administered hours before.

Emma offers him a weak, watery smile. He smiles back, in the same sort of sad manner, and he makes to leave the room and go down to Marco. On his way, he rubs Henry's back once, and looks at Emma with understanding and softness.

She makes her way to the chair beside Regina's bed when they're alone once again, and sits with Henry on her lap. 'She's right here Henry,' she whispers in his ear, and she takes Regina's hand, and her son's, and she puts them together.

Henry feels the sudden touch, and he turns his head around from where it was on her shoulder. He looks at the hand touching his, and his eyes lead to Regina's still, peaceful face. He sobs again, and his eyes wander back to Emma's, asking silently for permission to get closer to his raven haired mother.

She smiles at him softly, tears still escaping from her green eyes, and he slowly climbs off her lap, and she reluctantly lets him.

He puts the former Queen's hand back where it was before, and like a little monkey, he clambers over to the other side of his mother's body, where the drip is not attached to her arm, and when deciphering there is enough room to be next to her, he lays next his mother, letting his arm tentatively spread across his mother's ribs.

Emma sobs once at the sight, and then she makes her own move. She pulls her chair in, realizing it is just about low enough to slip underneath the bedstead, and takes Regina's hand, and carefully bends the elbow so it reaches where her ribs are, and lies extremely close to Henry's head, who has now closed his eyes and is breathing peacefully to the rhythm of his mother's in her chest.

Emma's chair is positioned where Regina's chest is, and she is still holding the hand that now lies on her ribs. Knowing Regina's is safely in the grasp of her left hand, she lays her head on Regina's soft shoulder. She rests her right hand just close enough to Regina's head that she can feel soft strands of her hair stroking it. She does not close her eyes, like her son.

Instead she lets the tears fall, and waits for her Queen to awaken.

* * *

**_As always, reviews make me a happy person. This will be the last update for at least a week, as I am off to Rome on Monday, but no fear, for I WILL BE BACK SOON… with a new chapter of this, and to top it off…_** **_A BRAND SPANKING NEW FIC._**

**_Keep your eyes peeled, guys. Thanks for reading. : )_**


	7. We're Not So Different, You And I

**_Hello, I'm back from Roma! So hopefully you didn't abandon this fic completely while I was studying ruins and monuments and walking around dead port cities and the like, because I really wanna know if you love this new chapter. Please review it! Also, I have two ideas brimming around in my head for a brand new fic. If you review can you choose one of these two ideas so I know which one to write first? First one: Ancient Rome (it came to me while I was away), or about three seasons in the future of the actual show. _**

**_Choose __wisely ;) Please review!_**

* * *

Although Regina feels a pressure on her shoulder and her abdomen that is nothing like she has ever felt before, she is still completely submerged in Medea's memory.

The more worrying thing is, she can't mentally bring herself to leave them.

And the pain is going to start getting worse; she knows it.

**_Jason had just finished preparing for his first challenge when Medea had gone over to him quietly, with nobody seeing. _**

**_'Take this,' she whispered firmly, thrusting a vial into his hand._**

**_'What is it?' _**

**_'It will protect you from the bulls,' she said calmly, looking about her for her father._**

**_'They are merely bulls, why would I need protection from them?' The Iolcan warrior was becoming more and more confused by the minute._**

**_'They are not merely bulls, Jason. Trust me. You see those hooves? Razor sharp,' she said, pointing at the gold coloured hooves of the two bulls awaiting him in the field. _**

**_'They would cut through your body quite easily.'_** **_Jason could only gulp as Medea carried on._**

**_ 'What's more, they have bad breath,' she said, shrugging her shoulders once._**

**_'Bad breath?' Jason asked, chuckling while looking at Medea. Her face had turned deadly serious._**

**_'They breath flames, Jason, it doesn't smell like garlic,' she quipped._**

**_She took a moment before taking his hand and squeezing it once. _**

**_'Drink the potion,' she ordered, 'it will shield you from the bulls' dangerous effects.'_**

**_He did so once Medea had walked away._**

**_He used those two bulls to plough the fields as Aeëtes had told him, planting the unusual looking seeds ceremoniously handed to him by the King of Colchis._** **_Once he had finished, he spread his hands out in victory, beckoning the Royals to look upon the once unploughable field. _**

**_He smiled._**

**_Only then did he hear the rumbling beneath his feet._**

**_ And feel it._**

**_One by one, the seeds Jason had planted turned into soldiers. _** **_Jason backed away quietly, and Aeëtes thought nothing of it when his daughter went, supposedly, to wish the Iolcan Prince a final farewell. _**

**_'What magic can protect me from this, Medea?'_**

**_'None can, Jason. None.' Yet the Princess was smiling, her back to her watching father. _**

**_'If I am to die at the hands of these warriors, then why are you grinning like nothing is wrong with the world?' He asked angrily, getting frustrated with Medea's easy and light tone._**

**_'You aren't going to die. I'm going to give you a little lesson… let's say psychology. You do something to someone without them knowing… walk away… and they won't think it's you.'_**

**_And with that, the Princess walked back to her throne beside her father, plastering a sullen look on her face to disguise her feelings from her father._** **_Jason looked at the men._**

**_Terrified._**

**_He stalked behind them, finding a tree to safely hide behind. _** **_He took out his dagger, holding it while shaking profusely._**

**_Then he threw._**

**_It landed straight through the back of one man's neck, and the soldier was brought to his knees by the force of the blade. His lifeblood drained out while he landed on the floor, unmoving._** **_The soldier next to him looked behind the body, at one other soldier._**

**_ They all looked exactly identical in their armour._**

**_'Did you do that to him? He did not do anything to you! You deserve to suffer the same fate as he!' _**

**_Jason watched dumbfounded as the soldier next to the dead man took out his sword, stepped forward and plunged it straight into the soldier's heart. He dropped to the ground with a splutter of pain and blood. _** **_That was when the battle started._**

**_The men killed and killed, stabbing anybody they could get their hands on, a disciplined army gone mad. _** **_Jason watched until only one man was left. _**

**_The soldier looked about him, looking at the dead bodies on the floor. He sobbed once, before slitting his own throat and dropping to the bloodied ground._**

**_Jason was scarred by what he had seen, but he got up and walked over to the King nonetheless. _** **_Jason was not the only one with a dumbfounded look. He looked around at the bodies scattered through the field, and then looked at the King, who was as shocked as he was. _**

**_'You may have the Golden Fleece,' Aeëtes murmured._** **_'Just get out of my Kingdom and never set foot here again. You are one of too much power. I fear you,' he continued, and then without another word left the field and retired to his bed chamber._**

**_More and more people followed the King away from the proceedings, until the only two left were Medea and Jason._** **_Medea only had an approving look on her face._** **_'So you worked it out then.'_**

**_'It seems so.'_**

**_Medea got up from her place on the pedestal, and walked over to Jason, her purple dress flowing behind her, her hair reaching to her lower back._**

**_'Thank you.'_**

**_'It was my pleasure, dear Prince.' She stepped so that their noses were almost touching._**

**_'I'm beginning to see why I end up with you. You're so… captivatingly intelligent,'_** **_He says, brushing his nose once against hers._**

**_'You have no idea what I'm capable of,' she said, before kissing him firmly, bring his head down to meet hers._**

**_The kiss made her mind explode, not to mention between her legs. She ran her tongue over his bottom lip, and he granted her access, letting her be the dominant partner. _**

**_They kissed for what seemed like hours before Medea pulled away, taking his hand and leading him to her bedchamber._**

Regina rips herself away from the memories before she can go any further. She gets it's Medea's story, but she just CANNOT watch herself do… that… with CHARMING of all people.

_We're not done here._

_Oh yes we are. I've seen enough, Medea. I understand that you're angry, I get that you want revenge. You've seen directly into my head… you KNOW I've been exactly in the same position. But I would never harm my child. Not in a million years._

_You will come to think of it differently. Trust me. We are just too kindred a spirit for you to just ignore this, Your Majesty. I will have my wish. Count on it._

And with that, Medea's consciousness disappears into the back of Regina's mind. She staggers back into reality, noticing she's on her bed.

Kykna is sitting on the edge of it, still having not noticed that Regina has awakened. Regina shifts so she is sitting up, and that grabs the Guardian's attention.

'Good evening, M'lady.'

'Please stop calling me that. You know my name.'

'Yes, I do. Regina.'

'Yeah,' Regina mutters.

She puts her head in her hand and running her fingers through her raven black hair.

'Look… there is something that may help you that I know.'

'I mean no disrespect whatsoever but how could you possibly help me?'

'Are you familiar with the name Emma Swan?'

Regina freezes.

'What?' she breathes, hardly believing those two words could come out of the Guardian's mouth.

'Emma Swan. Do you… know her? Back in your world?'

It takes Regina what feels like an age to answer.

'Yes,' she whispers.

'How do you know that name?'

'I've been in your position, Regina,' she says, and she stands up so she can move and sit closer to Regina on the edge of the bed, close enough to be able to reach out at arm's length to touch her face. Regina freezes at the touch, but relaxes after a second, before begging Kykna to carry on with her eyes.

'It was around 11 years ago. My uncle had been dead for about eight years. Word got around that he had died shortly after I had left. Some had blamed it on me, 'the little child who'd run away and abandoned him'. Others knew that it was a heart attack from the stress he'd put upon himself looking after me. I refused to blame myself for leaving. Refused to believe that was what had caused his death.

'Anyway, one day when I was around 18, I was riding my horse, and suddenly something flung me off the horse, and I hit my head pretty hard on the ground. I woke up in a room.'

'A white room? Completely white apart from a…'

'Bed I was laying on and my uncle sitting in a chair? Yes. Exactly that, Regina.'

Regina was shell-shocked at this deluge of information, but she beckoned Kykna to carry on.

'He talked to me. He said that although he was wrong, I needed to learn that leaving those behind that we love hurts. And after that, I fell asleep again.

'I woke up in a back alley of some very strange world. These machines were zooming around everywhere, I could hear them from miles away. My mind, or the woman's mind that I had clearly taken over, then started supplying me with everything I needed to know. That didn't take away the fact that I was…'

'Still terrified,' Regina finishes for her, as she noticed Kykna's defences crumbling. Kykna's eyes shine with tears at the memories. She utters a single word.

'Yeah.'

Before Regina can reply, Giagia rushes in behind a person who has clearly barged his way in, obviously wishing to speak, or yell, at her. Jason has come back to his home. And the fire in his eyes, Regina can sense, is nothing like Medea has ever seen before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

STORYBROOKE

'Good morning.'

Emma stops mid chew while eating her cereal as she swivels round in her chair.

Mary-Margaret has surfaced.

'Uhhh... Morning! Do you uh, you want some coffee or some food or something?'

'I'm alright. I'll um... I'll pick something up at Granny's later. I'm not really hungry.'

Emma awkwardly shifts in her seat, not really knowing what to do with herself.

'Look, Emma, we should... Talk about something later. Something important,' Mary-Margaret manages, before going into the store cupboard.

'Can we not talk about it now?' Emma stands up, going to lean against the store cupboard as her mother roots around for God-knows-what in it. Snow White backs out of the store cupboard, jumping slightly to see Emma so close to her.

'I really... Look, Emma, I just need to clear my head, okay? I need time... Just give me... Time. '.

Emma takes her chances and pulls her newfound mother into a hug. It doesn't show sympathy, or pity, or anger. It just says, 'look, I'm your daughter, but I'm also your best friend. I'm here'.

Mary-Margaret relaxes into the hug, pulling her daughter to her. Emma pulls away to see what so has hoisted on her shoulder.

A quiver of arrows. Not to mention the bow Snow is clutching on for dear life.

'Ummmm... Care to explain?' Emma says, dumbfounded.

'It helps. I have a target on a tree in the woods. That's where I've been.'

'Oh. Well, whatever makes you feel as good as you can feel right now.'

Emma walks away from Mary-Margaret, picking up her bowl from the tableland spooning some more into her mouth, as much that could fit so she doesn't have to talk again. The fact that her mother is firing arrows to keep sane just doesn't make sense to her.

'Meet you at the Rabbit Hole for Lunch?'

Emma nods vigorously as she remembers the vast range of alcohol available to purchase.

She remembers Regina, lying in that comatose condition at Marco's house, some unknown curse put upon her by who knows.

Her face contorts in pain, just as Mary-Margaret turns around to say goodbye.

'Emma, are you alright?'

'Yeah, fine. Don't worry. Go shoot trees. See you later,' she says before dumping her bowl in the sink and running up the stairs to retrieve her boots and coat.

MM decides not to let it go. Before she goes out of the door to investigate her daughter's questionable behaviour, the Flip-phone on the table was vibrating.

Marco:

URGENT! SHE'S TALKING! COME TO MY HOUSE ASAP. MARCO.

MM lifts her head up while she stares at the phone on the table. Why would Marco be texting her daughter?

Inviting her to her house of all things.

While Emma searches for her left boot upstairs, Snow takes her own iPhone out and quickly snaps a picture of it. She walks out of the door, shaking if off for the time being while she drives to the edge of the woods to clear her head.

When Emma returns downstairs again, bordering on relieved that her mother has left. What an awkward conversation. She notices her phone screen had lit up with a message. As soon as she's read it, she's out the door and driving to Marco's.

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Marco?'

'Upstairs!'

She races up the staircase, before seeing Regina's sweats and shirt clad form writhing around in the bed, eyes still firmly closed.

Marco is trying to keep her still, but she fights against his grip in her supposedly unconscious state, tossing and turning while muttering intolerable words.

'She hasn't stopped for half an hour. She keeps muttering something about... I don't know, a Medea? Does that mean anything to you?'

Marco moves out of the seat he is sitting in and let's Emma sit. She grips hold of Regina's shoulders.

The body seems to relax in her arms, but the mutterings carry on regardless.

'This isn't right... I learnt... Revenge... Not an option... Hurts...'

'I know... He's bad...'

Then Regina tenses in Emma's hold, not squirming but her voice becoming loud and clear.

'NO! DON'T HURT HER. I WON'T LET YOU.'

Then she goes back to her silent, lifeless self. She looks back at Marco, who is as bewildered and befuddled as Emma is.

She tries whispering in her ear, saying her name and gently shaking her to try and get a response.

Regina's eyes remain closed. Lying on the bed, Regina utters one word. It is only one that could be heard from where Emma is positioned, right near the woman's ear.

'Kykna,' she whispers, before going back to her previous state.

Emma sits back.

She takes that word in.

She knows it.

She cannot put her finger on where from though. It is something that had been implanted in her brain for so long it's buried into the depths so it cannot be found again. Buried with the memories of Neal and of Henry's birth.

It's the only memory which hasn't surfaced in the last year.

Kykna.

Kyknos.

Swan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma sits in a secluded booth in the Rabbit Hole, having told Michael to usher MM over when she arrives.

She's nursing a second scotch when she does, sitting daintily in the booth with a hard look staining her features.

'Hey -'

'Okay Emma, first of all, I want to know why you were upset this morning, because not only are we mother and daughter but we are also best friends, and we tell each other everything. Secondly, what the hell,' she says, 'is THIS?'

She holds out her phone to Emma, where a snapshot of the message Marco sent earlier shines off the screen.

Emma realises three things.

One, that her mother hasn't spoken that confidently since before Cora was killed, secondly that she looked through her phone.

And finally, Emma is busted.

MM looks at her daughter expectantly, waiting impatiently for an answer.

'You looked through my phone?'

'It was on your opening screen.'

'You had no right.'

'Spill, Emma. I'm waiting here until you do.'

'You'll be waiting a long time then.'

Emma downs the last of her scotch. She gets up out of the booth, turns on her heel and exits the building.

MM decides then a new approach must be taken.

She downs the last of her own drink, before rushing out of the door and making a beeline for Marco's.

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry and Emma pull up outside Marco's, Emma having just filled her son in on the strange happenings of the morning once school was done.

'Ma, look. The door's wide open.'

They share a confused look before getting out of the car. They go in through the front door, and hear hushed arguing upstairs. Then Emma remembers the number plate from the car parked behind her.

She sprints up the stairs, Henry quickly in pursuit.

She pushes open the slightly ajar to what is now Regina's room, and her mouth falls open at the sight.

Snow White is sitting calmly in the chair on the side of the bed furthest from the door, facing the mother and son.

'I'm sorry, I could not stop her.' Marco looks at the So-called Saviour apologetically.

She continues to stare at her mother, having shut her agape mouth to swallow the bile in her throat and the threatening tears, one already escaping from her green eyes.

She shakes her head slightly, giving Marco a soft pat on the shoulder, never taking her eyes off Snow White.

He leaves in haste, wanting to avoid the awkward situation like the plague.

'I better not be waiting much longer for that explanation Emma. I have bern waiting 3 hours now.'

Emma glares at her mother, who leans forward in her chair, looking more menacing than Emma has ever seen her.

Snow says her words slowly and firmly, as if to a child in trouble.

Which was very much the case.

'What's going on?'

* * *

_**Uh oh... Emma's in trouble. Please review! I'll see if I can get a new chapter up for friday, as it's my birthday then and I'll be feeling generous. ;) **_

_**Oh and uhh... KEEP BENCHING FRIENDS.**_

_**VIVA LA SWANQUEEN!**_


	8. The Queen and The Puppet

_**Here's the next chapter, lovelies. Reviews are extremely appreciated.**_

* * *

Jason is fuming. Regina can see the look in his eyes.

'Jason, I really don't want you here right now –'

'To hell with what you want! Creon's told me what you're planning. I will NOT let you take those children away from me.'

Regina sits up, regretting it because of the throb that enters her head, but does not back down.

'Those children? Do you mean YOUR children? The ones you supposedly fathered all these years?' She stands, letting Giagia help her up and stabilise on her own two feet.

'Yes, Medea, those ones,' he hisses, getting up his ex-wife's face, bearing teeth like a wolf. 'I know what you're capable of and I don't want them in your care.'

'Tough,' Regina hisses back. She stands her ground and Jason's eyes fire even more.

'No, not tough. They're coming with me,' he says, and then tries to walk out.

'They aren't going anywhere, they are MY children. You abandoned them when you shacked up with your slutty little princess,' Regina sneered, Medea's emotions flowing through her like lava.

'What did you call her?' Jason asked, in barely more than a whisper. He isn't facing Regina, but she can see the anger forming in his features even when his face isn't in show.

'Yes, that's right, my dear husband. She's your slutty little princess, isn't she?' Medea had come through fully now. Meanwhile, Regina was having an inner debate with her Greek counterpart.

_This isn't right, what you're thinking, Medea. I learnt that revenge is not an option, because it hurts the people you love, too. You have to stop this._

_NO. He deserves to die for what he did, he's a monster._

_And you're not? I know that you hate him, and I can see he's bad. But he doesn't deserve to die._

Medea could not reply to this.

And in the meantime, Jason has seen red.

He whirls around and tries to grab Regina's neck, but his attempt is thwarted by Kykna pushing her out of the way. She grabs Jason's wrists and kicks him in the stomach, and he doubles over in pain. She tries to push him over but he recovers, and lifts her up by the waist, slamming her body into the ground. She cries out in pain.

He grabs her by the collar of her shirt, and pulls out his sword.

'NO! DON'T HURT HER. I WON'T LET YOU.' Medea may have been in control, but they were Regina's words.

Before he can make any other move, he has been slammed into the opposite wall, and is being held there by, seemingly, nothing.

Medea is still fully in control of her body, and she is using her own magic to pin her ex-husband to the wall. All of a sudden, branches appear from the walls themselves, pinning Jason there and squeezing the life out of him.

'If you think that you can take my children and then kill my guards, you have no idea what I am capable of.' Regina could see and hear everything, and she could see the exact parallel to when Emma and Snow fell through the portal.

'I should have killed you when I had the chance.'

Medea's hand constricts, and she is fully in control. Jason struggling to stay conscious and his breaths are barely there.

Regina musters up all the strength she has, and violently seizes control of her body again. She lets Jason go, and he falls to the floor, coughing violently in an attempt to get some air into his lungs.

Regina immediately goes to Kykna, who is still on the floor. She is still in a lot of pain, having landed on her left elbow. Regina takes a look, and believes it's shattered.

'Kykna,' she whispers, stroking her forehead, and Kykna breathes in and out, looking Regina in the eye. She knows it is Regina who's in control now, and not Medea.

Meanwhile, Giagia goes over to Jason's crumpled form, and looks at him. He looks up at her, his face tired but angry.

'Get out of my house. And if you come back, I will not hesitate to kick you to the kerb myself. You're no prince. Not to me.'

He scrambles to a standing position and walks out quickly, still wheezing slightly as he goes.

Giagia helps Kykna up, who winces at the pain in her elbow.

'We'll get some cold water for that elbow.' With Kykna safely lying on the bed, Giagia shuffles out to the kitchen quickly.

'Don't ever do that again,' Regina says firmly, but softness still detectable in her voice.

'I will,' Kykna says instantly. 'I'll do it again, and again and again, because I'm protecting you,' she says. She reaches over with her good right arm, and strokes Regina's cheek.

Surprisingly, Regina doesn't feel herself tense at the touch. Instead, unbelievably, puts her hand over Kykna's, leaning into the touch.

'I'm not Medea, you know,' Regina says, stroking Kykna's hand underneath hers.

'I know. But if I'm protecting you, I'm protecting her, too.'

Her voice is so soft, and Regina smiles like she has never smiled before.

'Is Emma like this with you?'

The question catches Regina off guard. But she answers it anyway, and takes Kykna's hand away from her cheek. She still grips onto it anyway, still stroking it with her thumb.

'Far from it. Emma and I have had… do have… a difficult relationship.'

'How so?'

'We share a child. It's quite the complicated system.'

'Do you both look after him together?'

'Well, not exactly – wait.' She her face contorts in confusion. 'How do you know it was a boy?'

'I'll explain later. We still need to finish our conversation.' Kykna smiles lazily, just as Giagia comes in to put a bag of cold water on her elbow. She winces at the sudden drop in temperature. Regina cannot help but gently reach out her hand and touch Kykna's forehead, where a scrape from landing on the floor has formed.

'Right. You need to rest, Missy,' Giagia says to Kykna, and pointedly looks at Regina. She rolls her eyes in response, but squeezes Kykna's hand one more time before getting up and going leaving the room. Giagia follows her out, and just before Regina leaves, she turns and gives one last glance to the blonde girl, whose eyes are already slipping into the blackness of sleep.

There is a knock at the door, and Giagia immediately goes to answer it.

'It's okay, dear, I'll get it,' Regina says, putting her hand on Giagia's forearm before going to answer the door.

She opens it, and she's staring directly at the mirror image of The Blue Fairy.

'Chalciope? What are you doing here?'

'Aegeus heard word of what happened. May I come in?'

'Of course,' Regina says, opening the door a bit further, and Chalciope, the Queen of Athens, strides into her house in a humble fashion. Regina's mouth is agape as she closes the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

STORYBROOKE

Emma sits down on the vacant chair on the right sight of Regina's bed. She is still silently sleeping, unmoving; some could even say lifeless.

'She's not dead.'

'She looks it to me.'

'And you'd like that, wouldn't you, _Mom._'

'If you're going to call me that, at least try and say it with a bit of meaning. And no, I wouldn't like that, Emma. What's wrong with her?'

'I don't know.'

'You're lying. Superpower wasn't all just streetsmarts.'

'So? You don't need to know,' Emma hisses, getting up from the chair and going over to her mother, who only looks up at her. 'You don't have the right to know. You killed her mother.'

'Emma, please. That's not fair and you know it. And I do have a right to know' Mary-Margaret flinches at the accusation.

'Yes it is. And you do not have a right to know. You tricked Regina into killing her own mother. That's not fair. That's what's not fair!' Emma explodes. 'Regina has been fighting to change since the curse broke, and we haven't done anything to say we appreciate it, or to even ACKNOWLEDGE it! No wonder when her estranged mother turned up on her doorstep offering to help her get her son back she said yes! God, you are insufferable. You all think you're so _good_,' Emma sneers, the venom clear in her words. She has never talked like this before, not to anyone. 'But you know what? You're worse than she ever was. Because you don't even acknowledge what you did was a bad thing, you just think it was for the good of everyone else. I'll tell you something, _Snow White,_' Emma says, her voice dangerously low. 'You did that because you thought it was best for you. Not anybody else. You.

'Regina is under my protection. If you do anything to hurt her, or even come in here without me knowing, I will not hesitate to do something I will probably regret later. Touch her, and you will not like the consequences. Now,' Emma says, her voice barely audible. '_Get. Out._'

Mary-Margaret is on the verge of tears. She stands, and walks around Emma, reaching the doorway. She turns around, to see that Emma has not moved a muscle. She's staring into the space in front of her, barely able to contain her anger. Henry has been completely in his own world, stroking Regina's hair with his head in the crook of her neck.

Mary-Margaret cannot stop herself, and bursts into tears before running down the stairs, and out of the house past Marco.

Emma eventually moves, standing beside the stool on the right side of the bed, close to Regina. She looks over at Henry, who eventually looks up at her.

'Meet you downstairs?' He nods lazily, getting up and running down the stairs. Once she's sure he's gone, Emma looks back at the woman on the bed.

'I will protect you, Regina Mills.' She plants a soft kiss on the woman's forehead, and strokes her hair before leaving the room and walking down the stairs.

She walks into the kitchen, where Marco is still befuddled from Mary-Margaret's escape.

'Fancy some lunch Marco?' The man snaps out of his blunder, and looks over at Emma, before smiling slightly. Henry is sitting at the table, looking at his birth mother with a sense of awe and nonchalance.

'Come on.'

Marco gets his coat off the hanger, and ushers Henry out. Emma follows the two males out of the house, and they get in Emma's bug and head to Granny's.

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry decides after his meal that he wants to go to the Park, so Neal offers to take him at the Diner. Marco and Emma are alone at the bar when Mary-Margaret runs in, going over to Emma.

'Emma, I know you don't want to listen to me right now, but this isn't about me. It's about August.'

'What?'

'It's August. I've found him.'

'My boy, he's alive?' Marco says, a smile gracing his aged face.

'Yes. But he's completely wooden. He's been living in an abandoned trailer down near the toll bridge.'

'What can we do, can we help him?' Emma asks, her concern only for her estranged friend.

'No. But I know someone who might be able to; Mother Superior.'

'Yes. Yes, the Blue Fairy, she helped once. She can help again. She must,' Marco says. The three of them go urgently out of the diner, and Emma slaps down enough money to cover the bill.

They go to the Blue Fairy, who isn't help at all at this moment. She says that because he did not remain brave, truthful and unselfish, his punishment is something she cannot lift.

They go through to the forest, but find no sign of August. Only the note he leaves in the trailer.

_I'm so sorry, Papa._

They go back into Storybrooke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

August is at the Sheriff's station, wondering around with nostalgia on his mind when he comes across a shadow: a ghost, even.

'Regina?'

'Yes, Mr. Booth. Well. I am Regina, but I'm a shadow form of her.' The ghost moves around to August, smiling at him with a softness he has never seen on the woman.

'I need you to do something for me, August.'

'What do you need?'

'I'm in a different world. I'm in a place called Corinth, in the time of the triumph of Greek democracy. I need you to tell Miss Swan that I am coming back, and soon. Tell her I promise her I'll be back with her and Henry,' she finishes, her voice cracking.

'Why, all of a sudden, do you want to be with her and Henry so much?'

'Because, like it or not, which actually I've come to like, she is his mother too. And I respect that with every ounce of my being.' She smiles a watery smile.

August smiles back, but it quickly fades when he sees somebody enter through a door behind Regina.

'Oh my god,' a voice says. The figure behind the ghost of Regina Mills belongs to Tom Clark.

'Moving wood… and is that a ghost?!'

The man goes to the table behind Regina, and picks up the lone taser sitting on the table. He turns it on, and runs into August. He triggers the taser, and August is electrified with a painful amount of volts.

Emma, Mary-Margaret, Charming and Henry, with Marco following behind, are going into the Sheriff's station when August flings open the door, struggling to walk until he plonks on the ground, his limbs failing him.

'August!' Emma shouts, sprinting faster than any of the others and turning the wooden man over. Marco goes over to him, and says his name once.

'My boy,' he mutters, tears flowing freely from his eyes.

'I'm so sorry, Papa,' August says, not able to move. 'Emma,' he says softly.

'August,' she replies, and then helps the wooden man when he tries to get up to her ear

'She… she… promises…she'll… be…ba…' The energy dissipating from him completely, August turns into the lifeless figure of wood he should be without magic.

'Not again,' Marco whispers, holding the man who can no longer breathe.

Emma gets up, and puts her arm around a pondering Henry.

'Brave, truthful, and unselfish,' he whispers to himself. Emma doesn't quite catch it, and looks at her son in confusion.

'Brave, truthful, and unselfish,' He repeats more clearly now. 'That's what the Blue Fairy said Pinocchio had to be, to be a real boy. Where is she?'

'I'm here Henry.' Mother Superior appears behind Mary-Margaret.

'Can you do it?' Marco asks.

'If Henry's right, I can try,' she says, getting out her wand.

The wooden man, miraculously, turns into a boy again.

'Pinocchio,' Marco says, hugging his son, who he now has a second chance with. The boy gets up, so he's standing, and The Blue Fairy goes to him.

'Do better this time, Pinocchio,' she says, poking his nose lightly before stepping back, letting Emma talk to the boy.

'Pinocchio,' she says, smiling at him, putting her hands on his upper arms in a soothing way. 'You were trying to say something to me before you changed back into a real boy. Can you remember what it was?'

'I don't remember. I'm really sorry. If I did, I promise I would be truthful.' Emma smiles at the boy, who then leaves with his father and the Blue Fairy.

Emma looks up at Mary-Margaret, who looks back at her with sorrow and hope, both at the same time.

Emma sighs, going over to her estranged mother and hugging her tightly, while Henry hugs his grandfather.

They leave together, and Emma takes Mary-Margaret with her in her bug while Charming and Henry go back to their apartment.

They say nothing, until Snow cannot bear the silence a minute longer.

'Emma I'm sorry,' she says, like it's tumbling out of her throat.

Emma sighs deeply, glancing over at her estranged mother before looking back at the road.

'It's not me who you should be saying sorry to.' She smiles at her mother sadly, and a couple of minutes later they pull up at Marco's. August is already out riding a bike, having been given some different clothes more appropriate for the realm.

'Hello! You're the one from outside the town hall!' August says, smiling up at Emma.

'Yeah, I am. Hi kid. I'm Emma,' she says, putting out her hand to shake with a cheeky smile on her face.

Instead of accepting it, he flings himself into her arms with almost as much vigour as Henry does. She squeezes him back, and then goes into the house.

'Hey, Snow!' He runs up to Mary-Margaret, who kneels down to his level and hugs him when he gets into her arms. Emma can see from the door that tears are threatening to escape.

She goes into the house, and immediately goes up the stairs to Regina's room.

There has been no change since this afternoon. She is still in an unexplainable coma, most likely alone in her own head. Emma sits down on the chair nearest to the bed, next to the door, and she cannot help but stroke the raven-dark hair again and again, even though it is nowhere near Regina's face.

'What was August trying to say to me, Regina? Who will be back?'

Snow is about to enter the room when she hears Emma talking to the lifeless woman on the bed, and sees through the open crack in the door.

'Is it you? Are you going to come back? Because you need to, Regina, you have to. Henry needs you.'

'I need you.'

Emma's voice is now blubbery, and thick with tears. She cannot help but sob once, and she puts her head on Regina's ribs, sobbing into the shirt fabric which needs changing anyway. She looks up at Regina's face, stroking it frantically.

'Why are you talking about Medea in your sleep, Gina? Where did that come from? Is that who you're with?'

'You said Kykna's name. Is she there too, do you know her? She's great, right?'

'She helped me through the worst time of my life, and I don't know how to thank her for that. Anyway, I'm rambling now.'

'I know how cliché this is going to sound, but if you're coming back, Regina, _please, _just send me some sort of pointer. _Please._' At that point, she goes back to sobbing into Regina's shirt.

Snow decides now is the time to go in. She opens the door softly, and goes to put her hand on Emma's back. To her surprise, Emma pulls her in for a hug around her waist, clinging to her as she sobbed into her coat, leaving one hand beside Regina's left hand. Snow clings to her daughter's shoulders as she shakes with violent cries, whispering soothing words into her hair.

Then out of absolutely nowhere, Regina's hand grips Emma's with a vigour that may almost break it.

Emma's eyes snap to the hand, and then to Regina's face.

She opens her eyes, and her irises are bright red, swirling, and she sits up. She is completely unresponsive to Emma's touches to her hair, to her face, and then when Emma gets out of the chair and runs to the end of the bed, climbing onto it and straddling Regina's legs, gripping onto Regina's shoulders tightly.

'REGINA!'

She does not respond, and her head is looking to the ceiling. She opens her mouth and a blood red, glitter-laced smoke escapes from her airways.

Snow does not think; she just acts. She grabs an empty water bottle from the bedside table, climbing onto the chair and bottling up as much of the smoke as she can.

She gets down, and puts a hand on Regina's shoulder. She is still looking at the ceiling, and her mouth closes slowly.

'Regina?' Emma's voice is now timid, that of a scared child. She goes to stroke Regina's temple, taking her hands off the woman's shoulders.

Regina eyes roll into the back of their sockets, her eyelids close and she falls back onto the bed, her head hitting the pillow with a light _thump._

'Regina,' Emma breathes, tears running freely down her face again. She gets off Regina's bed, slumping on her chair. She simply leans forward, her head resting just on Regina's ribs again. She sobs until everything aches. Snow only kisses her daughter's hair, once.

'Emma, I'm going to go to Mother Superior. I'm going to get her to look at this smoke. It could tell us more.'

'No, I don't want anyone else knowing.' She doesn't get up from her position, and her voice is weak and fed up. Snow sighs in immediate defeat

'Okay.' She leaves her to go to downstairs, taking the bottle with her, so she can take a look herself.

Snow is sitting at the kitchen table in Marco's house, while Marco is cooking dinner for his hungry little boy.

He looks around, and sees Snow studying the bottle of glittery red smoke. He stops frying the potatoes, and goes over to the table.

'May I see that?'

Snow snaps out of her day dream, and hands it over.

'Of course.'

He looks at it, turning the bottle over in his hands.

'I know what this is.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~~~

CORINTH

'What brings you to Corinth, Chalciope?'

'I was passing through. My husband and I, we've been trying for a baby, with no success. I wanted to go to the Oracle at Delphi. I got here, and people were… gossiping about you. I was worried.'

'With all due respect, your Majesty –'

'Please. Chalciope is fine.'

'With all due respect, we have never met.'

'No. I know. But my husband has talked highly of you, Medea. I admire you for your courage.'

'Thank you.' She smiles sadly at the woman. Medea's emotions are causing tears to go down the woman's face. She has never been given such compassion from a stranger.

'I have also heard that Creon plans to put you into exile,' she says, slight venom dripping into her voice.'

'He has.'

'Well, I am here because there is something I would like to offer you.'

'What's that? You're too kind, Chalciope.'

'I would like to offer you, first, safe asylum in Athens. Secondly, if you choose not to go there, I own a small cottage in the Thessalian mountains. I would like to also offer you the chance for asylum there, if you prefer.'

Regina's eyes widen, mirroring Medea's actions in her head.

'What?'

'You deserve a good life. You do not deserve what Jason gave you.'

'I don't know how to thank you.'

'You needn't. The only thing I say is, you must arrange your own transport to go where you choose. I cannot take you to either place.'

Regina's smiles widens, and a couple of tears escape.

'Thank you,' she whispers. Chalciope puts her hand over Regina's, and then leaves.

Regina stares into space, and Medea pops up in her head.

_Nobody's ever been so selfless in regards to my safety in my entire life._

_It just shows you have people who care about you, doesn't it?_

_I guess so._

_**Please review!**_


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